We recently connected with Mary Kurek and have shared our conversation below.
Mary, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?
My background includes work in the Governor of NC’s Press office. It was there I cut my teeth on writing press releases, speeches, proclamations, and working with media. I carried that skillset into my entrepreneurship journey when I turned a networking book into a business coaching practice working with other entrepreneurs and later into a professional networking agency. Several years ago, I created a digital magazine, interviewing clients with the idea that I could attract potential contacts and leads for them. The magazine became a podcast about the time my business started moving toward business development with a decided international focus.
The podcast was named Frontrunners Innovate. It fit my personality and I was enjoying the variety of people from all over the world I had the opportunity to get to know. I started out just picking people off of Linkedin that I thought looked interesting. Then, something happened that moved the podcast from just a marketing vehicle to something much more strategic. It was about six years ago when the turning point occurred. By then, I had interviewed nearly one thousand “frontrunners” from more than 100 countries. They were all fantastic people creating impact, but, on this one day, I was excited to be speaking to a diplomat from Africa. He was the Honorary Consul General From Malawi to Israel – serving as both a diplomat and a businessman, as he owned one of the largest farming operations in that area of Africa. He was gracious and accommodating, yet the policy-driven conversation I thought we’d have was not the topic. He wanted to talk about trafficking of girls and the shelter he had built on his property. He was dedicated to saving these girls. It was a memorable conversation punctuated by follow up messages. That kind of communication cemented the beginning of a real relationship.
Not a month later, I found myself interviewing yet another diplomat for my podcast. He was a retired US Congressman and retired US Ambassador (Denmark). Like the diplomat in Malawi, he, too, was a businessman with a company that develops sustainable villages. I knew these two gentlemen had to meet. The meeting was arranged. What makes this such a crazy story is that I had no idea then that this introduction between two podcast guests I plucked off of Linkedin would end up beginning a multi-million dollar 10,000-person sustainable village project for Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Africa. The project would involve an official partnership between the two diplomats, arrangement to start the village on property adjacent to the diplomat’s farm in Malawi, and I’d be involved as part of the development team. It still surprises me how simple actions can open the biggest doors. As of today, this project sits with Malawi’s Parliament and things are looking good for moving forward.
Crazier still is that the retired Ambassador is a partner of mine on other projects. I’ve made introductions to more key leaders and his ability to help open doors has been amazing. It is exhilarating when you think of the impact potential for now and for the long term.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My industry isn’t so mainstream. I make connections that create opportunities and sometimes I create the opportunities and bring in the connections. I’ve utilized my podcast like a business development tool, becoming strategic about the types of people I bring on to learn what they are doing and where they are headed. There’s always a gap and the gap is where the opportunity lies for connection. I’ve had clients who have contracted with me to find connections of a certain type to help them prepare for a product launch in the US or secure the right audience channels. For the most part, founders don’t have a network that is deep or diverse enough to help them move forward. Also, they lack in understanding the difference between networking and relationship building. Trust is what makes the difference. I bring that and I have built enough of a global community now that I have that as the best asset that I own. My network can do anything. Believe it!
What I like best is to work on teams that are developing large infrastructure projects that have mass impact. I have a particular bend toward Africa (East Africa primarily). I serve on a few international boards that focus on entrepreneurship, education, and hunger alleviation. What I’m most proud of lately is the integration of what I’m calling my Youth Commons. They are a growing group of young leaders (mostly from Africa) who I have interviewed over the years who have their own organizations or businesses. They are smart, well connected, motivated, and hungry to grow. I basically have integrated them into my business and network to co-host podcasts with me, sit in on business calls, and get introduced to key leaders in my network. I want them to learn while doing and grow their own efforts to create impact through what I’m doing. They are doing it, too. Not only that – a big surprise for me is that they are starting to introduce valuable contacts from their networks to me. I’ve had an invitation to attend an event at the UN in September thanks to one introduction and I can already feel a partnership brewing with another.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
I don’t have to really source for new clients. But, I will tell you this, the best marketing tool or engine for me has been my podcast. I also feel I have a gift for making people feel supported and comfortable. I hear from people on calls a lot that they like my energy and really feel the trust. People know when you are genuine. I have no problem letting people know that I enjoy hearing their story. I want to know their “why.” I want to know who they know. And, I want to be helpful if I can.
Podcast secret: After a while, I realized that I could offer a co-host position to someone I had already interviewed to give them a little extra viz but also to start the connecting business right then with someone that shares their interests. I’ve actually had an investor twice offer to invest someone (on camera.) I have had partnerships form and lots of interviewees afterward to introduced others to me and/or came to me later with business ideas.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I think the biggest lesson that any “people pleasing” entrepreneur has to learn is to create boundaries that support one’s own alignment. You need to be discerning about your focus and the direction in which you are headed. I have tried to be supportive to so many people who have asked for favors in the past that I couldn’t possibly do a good job with all of them. Many wanted to partner with me to gain access to my community for sponsorships for their events. I learned that my community really isn’t that kind of community and sponsorship seeking isn’t aligned with my work. Using my business or platform for seeking sales for particular products or services isn’t really aligned with my focus, either. I have had plenty of colleagues who thought that would be part of what I’d do. I would always agree saying “well, let’s see what happens.” But, honestly, I knew it wasn’t my “cup of tea.” My agreeing was being disrespectful to myself and others. It’s a tough lesson, but, as they say “no is a complete sentence.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://frontrunnersdevelopment.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marykurek/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FrontrunnersDevelopment
