Raising babies after retirement

Not many of us can have the opportunity to retire when we reach 45 and the financial freedom to do what we have always wanted to do. So when the opportunity came for Joey Gurango, Microsoft Business Solutions’ Managing Director for the Philippines, he happily grabbed it.

Gurango has spent almost half of his life as an entrepreneur. After short stints with IT companies such as Apple and Microsoft while still in his twenties, he set out to build US-based Match Data System, his own software development company. In 1991, Gurango decided to set up an offshore office in the Philippines.

As every entrepreneur knows, starting and growing a business is not easy. Gurango had to hurdle challenges every entrepreneur has to go through. His entrepreneurial efforts were rewarded when he sold his company to Great Plains four years ago. Microsoft acquired Great Plains two years later and changed its name to Microsoft Business Solutions. "I’ve always dreamt of retiring in my 40s. That opportunity came when Great Plains bought my company," he said. He, however, had to stay with the company for two more years as part of the deal with Great Plains.

"I could have retired two years ago but I was learning so much from working for a multinational company that I opted to stay longer," he said. It was only last year when he decided when he was going to retire and what he is going to do next.

"Microsoft gave me the opportunity to learn as much as I could about how a multinational company works. I wanted that knowledge and experience. I’ve learned what I wanted to learn. It was time for me to think of retiring and what to do next." He said. It was important for him to know what to do next because, for him, retirement is not finally having the chance to sit in front of the TV the whole day while eating potato chips. "Retirement, to me, is having the freedom that financial independence provides — the freedom to do what you really want to do with your time," he said.

Gurango clarified that financial independence does not mean having lots and lots of money. It means having enough money to maintain the standard of living that you have chosen without having to work every day. Every individual will, however, have different measurements for claiming financial independence.

"For some people, financial independence might mean $1 million in the bank. For others, it may be $10 million; and to others, it may mean $100,000 in the bank," he said.

Gurango officially relinquished his post at MBS last month.

He is now a mentor capital. The dream of becoming a mentor capitalist has been brewing in his heart when he was still just another employee at Apple. However, back then, he did not have what it took to become a successful mentor capitalist. He still lacked money and experience – the two crucial ingredients of mentor capitalism.

A mentor capitalist is someone who invests not just money but also knowledge into a business. As a financier, part of Gurango’s role would be to infuse his own money into the business or look for other sources of funding. But, according to Gurango, there could even be times when it is not even necessary for a mentor capitalist to invest money but just knowledge. A mentor capitalist would never invest money without investing knowledge. Simply put, a mentor capitalist is someone who is both financier and mentor.

Parental guidance

In the same way that parents provide their children with both financial resources and parental guidance until they reach maturity, a mentor capitalist provides a business with not just money but professional guidance vital for its growth.

This is where the difference between venture capitalism and mentor capitalism lie. It has been proven many times that money is not always the solution of problems.

"It is easier to mask problems when you have a lot of money. A case in point is the recent dot-com crash. Venture capitalists infused so much money into dot-com companies but that did not keep those companies from failing," Gurango said. Most of the failed dot-com did not have viable business plans and, worst, did not have advisers who could have made them realize the fact.

"Knowledge is more important. With knowledge, you can make money," he said.

However, a fledgling business, unlike a child in its infancy, does not have the privilege of having the time and experience necessary for building knowledge. This is where a mentor capitalist comes in.

The mentor capitalist would guide the business from its infancy until it can stand on its own. It is, therefore, imperative for a mentor capitalist to have the experience of building his own company and making it grow. Someone who can say: "been there, done that."

Gurango makes for an ideal mentor capitalist. Much like his role model Heidi Roizen–the well-known pioneer of mentor capitalism–Gurango has been through the ups and downs of running a business and has, throughout the years, built a network of valuable business contacts.

Gurango will use the knowledge, experience, and influence he has gained throughout the more than two decades that he has been in business in their infancy to grow and become global companies.

First baby

Before the year ends, Gurango intends to start raising his first "baby." In choosing a business to support, he only has four criteria:

• The business must be based in the Philippines;

• The business should benefit the local economy;

• The business should have global potential; and,

• The business should be something he would be proud to be part of.

The business should be in its infancy, although it does not necessarily have to be a start-up. "There are companies that have been in business for five years that are still in their infancy. But I am not particular about the type of industry the business is in, as long as I find it interesting" he said.

Gurango’s goal is to invest in 10 to 15 small companies and to turn at least three of these companies into global firms within five years. He is currently in the process of accepting business proposals through email, ([email protected]), from entrepreneurs and business owners who see the need for a mentor capitalist. He is not aggressively looking for companies. "I want them to look for me because I want them to first realize the need for what I can offer. I cannot help them unless they realize they have a need for a mentor capitalist," he said.

Business owners who want to send business proposals to Guarango would do well to heed this advice – don’t send a pitch that is more than a page long. His computer has been programmed to automatically discard proposals that exceed one page.

"It should be no more than one page long and must be in Microsoft Word format. It would also be deleted if the proposal is in the body of the email," he said. He did this to avoid wasting time poring over long and boring proposals.

More than ever, Gurango is bent on pursuing his dream. He believes the nature of our society and the current state of our economy makes for an ideal scenario for a mentor capitalist like him.

"Getting funding is not the most important task on the road business success. Besides, in our particular economy, it takes less funding to build successful business. Here, the knowledge component of mentor capitalism is even more important."