Joe is the founder and former CEO of Morningstar, a financial services and investment research firm that is one of the most recognized companies in finance. It provides investment research and investment management services to many millions of people around the world.  Morningstar has a market value of $10.6 billion and Joe earned his spot on the Forbes 400 with a reported net worth of $5.6 billion.  Joe also owns magazines Inc. and Fast Company, as well as two professional soccer teams – the Chicago Fire in the MLS and FC Lugano in UEFA League. Time stamps: 02:11 Joe’s childhood Had a lot of unstructured timeLiked to do various projects 06:33 Joe’s first entrepreneurial experience Went to a ham fest with a friendBought Drake 2B receiver for $20009:19 The Room 607 Studied at the University of ChicagoLived in a new dorm with no place to buy soda or snacks11:20 The magic of boldness You grow by going beyond your comfort zoneJust give it a try and be willing to stand out16:34 The Christmas tree business Rented a truck, bought Christmas trees, and set up a shopLearned that managing your inventory is the key to successBroke even, but learned a lot 19:50 Should starting a company be fun? It should be fun and you should enjoy itFinding something you are passionate enough 21:04 How important is perseverance as part of the passion? Left it and went into investingReal entrepreneurs won’t give up until they find a solution 26:27 Funding an entrepreneur that failed Joe would fund entrepreneurs that failedFailure is a great lesson, not a black mark 28:07 A night manager at Arby’s Wanted to start a concept of healthy fast foodGot a job of a night shift manager at Arby’s in ChicagoFound out he hated it32:06 How important is customer satisfaction and customer service to our success? Satisfying customers is extremely importantLearning to deal with people is highly valuable 34:18 How did Joe get excited about investing? Book mention: John Train, The Money MastersStarted working in an investing company - Harris associates 38:47 The great revelation about the mutual fund industry Had a lot of reports and other materialRealized that he had valuable dataLooked deeply at the mutual fund industryIt was a very obscure industry49:27 How important is it to do research when starting a company? Research + instincts + judgementThe data is out there and it is extremely important to research Sponsors: Sandee | Bliss: Beaches Want to Connect? Reach out to us online! Website | Instagram | LinkedIn