“With passion, building a great business is doable.”

This is the line that CEO of Digital Measures, Matt Bartel, greeted entrepreneurial students with. This idea of passion resonated throughout the presentation, constantly presenting itself as a key component of the tools to success.

Matt Bartel’s presentation elicited an overwhelming response from Wake Forest students who eagerly gathered in the Innovation Station to actively participate in the presentation.

Digital Measures is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based firm that develops software for higher education. Matt Bartel founded this company in 1999 as a sophomore at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, proving that being both a student and entrepreneur is possible. Bartel has now grown the organization to serve its network of 1,500 schools and colleges in more than ten countries. His clientele base contains 60% of the largest 500 universities, most notably Wake Forest University, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale.

A more than successful entrepreneur, Matt Bartel had lots of lessons and experiences to share. Bartel shared that he has always expressed interest in entrepreneurship, even as a young child. He confidently admitted that he was always eager to participate in school fundraisers, competitively selling gift wraps, popcorn, and coupons to neighbors, friends, and family. This budding inclination toward entrepreneurship encouraged him to gain experience throughout the years, working a grand total of thirty different jobs! In doing this, he was able to observe and gain insight from the different companies, making mental lists of what worked and what did not. He pulled from all of these experiences and more to create Digital Measures. His best advice? “Get out there and talk with people about your idea to make it happen.”

In closing, Bartel left students with a few early lessons that he’s learned and noted throughout the years. Words for the wise, as some may say…

1. If you're visionary, get an operational business partner, and vice-versa.
2. You must be able to make sales to clients and employess.
3. You will use all of the basics you learn in business school. There is a reason behind the studying. Stay focused and know that the material will re-present itself in one way or another.
4. Landing your first few employees will be challenging.
5. Have a job description before you hire someone.
6. You might not need much money to make it go- there's really not a hugely compelling reason that you need a lot of money to start a business.
7. You'll handle lots of grunt work and work a ton...be prepared. 
8. Hire as smart of people as possible- 6 out of 26 of Matt's employees earned a perfect score on their ACT!
9. Trust and develop your instinct. 
10. Figure out what you're good at. 
11. Read as much as possible.  He suggested the following to start: Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore; The E-Myth, Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber; How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown; and biographies of Steve Jobs
    
12.  Most importantly, be passionate- this alone is the difference between success and failure.

With passion, nothing can stand in your way. The saying is cliché, but will always hold true.