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today that will have me going to bed thinking, "That was the box and require some outside-the-box thinking on how
just a great idea! How can we better help that person and we facilitate payments, which I think is the way that the
that organization?" industry is going. You have payment facilitation now, but
I think you will start seeing in the next two or three years
What is one thing people don't know about interesting ways of people doing payments with products
ecommerce that you wish they did? that are being developed. That is where Fuzse is headed.
I think there is a segment of our industry that really should
embrace ecommerce just because there is not as much Have you read any good books lately
margin saturation in the business as there is in retail, so that have inspired you?
there is not a ton of competition. I think that all the people
I talk to are really smart people and have moved more of Yes, I have. Same Kind of Different is Me is a book that just got
their business into ecommerce because they see that there made into a movie and stars Greg Kinnear. We are actually
is just more money to be made there than in retail. doing the payment processing for the book's foundation.
It's about a gentleman who was an international art dealer
in Fort Worth whose wife made him start volunteering at
What did you imagine you would do for a homeless shelter to repair their marriage, and he became
a living when you were young? best friends with the baddest homeless guy on the street.
They had a 25- to 30-year friendship, and it's just a great
I grew up in a very sports-related house. My mom and book.
dad owned a wholesaler business; they had a showroom
in the World Trade Center for 25 years. During the '90s, my I just read The Magic of Thinking Big, which is a great book
parents brought sticker and scrap booking companies into if you are a sales leader. It talks about goals and goal
big-box retailers such as Michaels and MJ Designs.
setting. A lot of people have goals but don't have timelines
on goals. For example, if someone says, "I want to make $X
I thought at the time that I would work for my parents' more than I made this year." Well, let's work that problem
company. I was a five-year-old kid with spiky hair in my backward. How are you going to do that? What are you
parents' showroom, demoing new products to retailers, going to do on a daily basis to achieve that $10,000 goal,
which is where I started learning how to sell. My dad and by when do you want to have that done? It's not just
coached baseball for 25 years, everything from semi-pro having goals; it's having goals with purpose.
to professional baseball. I thought I would do something
in sports, or I'd take over my parents' business.
Snap Shot of 2017
What sets you apart as a leader?
Calendar of Events
I think the biggest thing that sets me apart as a leader is I
would never ask someone to do something I wouldn't do
myself. My dad said to me when I was very young that
a leader with no followers is just a guy taking a walk.
It's watch what I do, not what I say. If it's coming early
and staying late, making 300 calls in a day or having 15
business meetings in a day, there is nothing that I'm above
that I won't get my hands dirty on.

What's the next step for you professionally? January 31 - February 2

Fuzse is a relatively young company; it's less than a year www.northeastacquirers.com
old. It's been a lot of fun setting this company up and
working 18-hour days not only doing the sales, but even
building cubicles on our first day of business. It's all
hands-on deck. I think the best organizations are like SEAA Annual Conference
that from the top down. Everybody gets their hands dirty
March 20 - 22
and problem-solves together. I think 2017 is going to be a http://www.southeastacquirers.
massive year for Fuzse. com/registration.html

We have just inked three huge deals with three really big http://www.greensheet.com/datebook.
developers and ISVs that are doing projects that are outside php?flag=calendar_display

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