I’ve written about my next mentor often.  (Here’s but one example– with another great story about Cary.)  He was but one half of the management team that took a chance to hire me.  A soon-to-be 14 y old kid.  And, let me basically take over their baby.  (As you can see, Cary became a mentor about the time I was losing touch with Ms. Katzman.  I’d been really lucky to have a continuous mentor relationship for nigh 16 years, by the time this one ends.)

HarryCary is what I called them, when they were together.  I. Harry Mazer and Cary Rollner planned to grow their store into something big.  Arlee Cleaners and Launderers was a pretty big shop on Merrick Road (Merrick, NY) on the South Shore of Long Island.  Back then, it had the state-of-the-art (SOTA) dry cleaning machine (solvent extraction, heat exchangers, steam generators- the unit operations that chemical engineers all studied), with some 5 or 6 employees, plus the two owners.  Pretty big business for the South Shore of New York- especially back in the early 60s.

Cary was the one who took a very special interest in me.  Just like my son, Cary was born on the 4^th of July.  Cary was 9 years older than me- which when you are 14, was a lifetime.  But, as you can see, he was pretty young himself.

He hired me to clean up the shop- but it was more like Cary wanted to give me a chance.  I took it- and gave it my all.  Until my first paycheck about two weeks later.  He gave me $ 22.10.  And, I quit.  Because I would not work for minimum wage.  so, he rehired me immediately for the princely sum of $ 1.45 an hour- a full 25% premium over the minimum wage.   And, for that, he got someone who helped him make his Arlee dreams come true.

But, he taught me plenty.  That having the best equipment and doing the best job doesn’t always get you the business.  You have to provide more- be interested in your customers.  Know what goes on in their lives.  So, they feel-  no, so they know!- you care about them and their lives.  If that were the only thing I learned from Cary, he still would be a wonderful mentor.  But, he taught me more.

He let a little kid (come on, no matter what I thought I was- or where I was going to school, I was 14 and 15 when this was going on) go to Baltimore to get trained by the International Fabricare Institute (now known as the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute).   He let a little kid take over his collection activities. (OK, he and Harry did an abysmal job collecting.) He also regretted that I arranged that a percentage of what was collected becamemine, because that meant my pay was now pretty darned good.

He and I started a drapery cleaning business.  From his point of view, it meant he didn’t have to be “stuck” in the shop, that he could be visiting our customers, doing work outside the shop.  Oh, and making even more money than one could “for just dry cleaning”.  It let me work out logistical planning,  to have more employees, more clout with the customers, and more fun.

Cary also “coached” me in my dating efforts.  In that regard, he was like an older brother and not a boss.  He thought my dating only one girl was crazy- he thought that someone of my age should date many and find out what life was all about.  (He didn’t win out in that regard.  But, given my results- maybe I should have followed his rule!)

Cary met an untimely death.  He was killed driving on the expressway; a vehicle crossed the very narrow, unprotected median and terminated his life.  (The Long Island Expressway now has 4 foot tall Jersey barriers.) On the day after Halloween, when he was 29.

But, his spirit lives on.  He’s why I mentored others.  He’s why I never paid someone minimum wage- even when our companies were small and just starting out.  He’s why I give folks a chance when I hire them, and give them opportunities to train and learn and grow- and sometimes even go.

I returned the favor to HaryCary.  The attorneys who helped transition Arlee to new owners after Cary’s death were my attorneys; the ones who worked with me to commercialize my artificial kidney.

My next mentor came much later in my life.  My company was 5 years old, about the time that Bernie Goldhirsch started Inc magazine and Arthur Lipper III started  Venture magazine.   These were the magazines that entrepreneurs and wannabe entrepreneurs devoured.  Bernie, who was an MIT grad, decided that he could gain notoriety and stature for his magazine by promoting the 500 fastest growing entrepreneurial companies in the US.

You guessed it.  Our firms was among the first on that list- for three years running .  But, by then, I had decided that Inc employed the wrong measurement.  Who cared if you kept growing a firm by 100, 200, or 300% a year?  I cared a lot more if we grew our firm’s BOTTOM line by that value.

That’s about the time when Arthur  started a group called the ‘Association of Venture Founders (AVF).  A simple premise- it would be a group of entrepreneurs who grew-and wanted to grow- business.  The lifeblood of America.   Besides having fun, Arthur Lipper thought it would greatly enhance the value of Venture.

I became an enthusiastic devotee.  And, it was a great ride. Great speakers for our  meetings.  And, each of us even serving as ex-officio Boards for one another.  After all,  it is easier to see someone else’s problems (and blind spots) than our own.  But, by seeing what their scenarios involved, we could apply these insights to our own companies.

With time, Arthur and I became great friends.  No, he became my mentor.  By now, I was involved in the development of a new device that would produce microbe-free and chemically pure water for the home market.  BioFiltration Technologies was going to offer a device (about the size of a toaster oven) that would provide outstanding drinking water for a family of 8.

And, had not the underwriters of this venture “borrowed” the funds they raised, we probably would have asked Arthur to be on this company’s board.  (After a few harrowing months, it was clear to the authorities that we had nothing to do with this fraud.  And, Arthur, who owned his own seat on the Big Board, had lots of words of wisdom to share during this fiasco.)

By the early 1980’s, I was developing a new dialysate (for hemodialysis).  One that was biologically and chemically more in tune with the physiology of the patients.  We  convinced  Arthur to serve on the Board of Bicarbolyte.  Arthur was available by phone all the time- and showed up monthly to help me- and my team- stay attuned to our mission and vision, even as we outgrew 8 business plans.  Yes, we exceeded the goals routinely.  And, no, we were not low-balling.

Which brings up the perennial problem of skyrocketing businesses.  CAPITAL.  And, Arthur offered advice in this area as well.  (For several years, we were turning over inventory 24 times a year.  Think about that- especially with a 7 day incubation hold and a 3 day testing period to approve a given batch- and we didn’t work weekends or holidays.)

And, one of Arthur’s best pieces of advice that is shareable was how we were positioned in the marketplace.  We were considered the high quality upstart.  But, as Arthur said, the only difference between us and our (far larger) competitors was that they had three more zeroes associated with their enterprise.  That let them make mistakes that would crush us.

Thanks, Arthur, for being there- and making sure we weren’t crushed.

(Oh, and Anni-  I don’t forget your help, either!)

 

 

 

 

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