Bant Breen: The Entrepreneur’s Disease and Finding a Way Forward

May 13

Written By Jayson Krause

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The Executive Commute Podcast with Jayson Krause: Show Notes

Bant Breen: The Entrepreneur’s Disease and Finding a Way Forward

Bio: Bant Breen

Bant Breen is a successful global marketing and media executive and Founder of Qnary, an award-winning executive reputation management and talent branding solutions company. In 2010 he was inducted into the AAF Advertising Hall of Achievement.

Part 1: The Early Days

Quotes

“The ability to write clearly and quickly is not something that even highly educated people in America today know how to do.”
“No idea happens unless you get into the trenches and do it.”
“You have to keep on going if you believe in the path or the plan that you’re on.”
“You have to believe in the model that you’re building so you don’t dwell on the failures.”

Summary

Bant Breen is a Hall of Fame marketing executive, founder of Qnary, and PhD holder. We started the interview with Bant talking about Qnary and how they help executives build up their online presence. Qnary works with executives to optimize their online presence to tell the story and represent the brand they work for.

Bant described his childhood in Evanston, Illinois where he expressed his creative and curious mind. He and his friends started an advertising agency at the age of 16, which cemented his entrepreneurial mindset and love for communication in marketing.

Bant went to Duke University for his undergrad and later to Cambridge for his master’s degree and found a way to avoid going to law school. He explained how his dad took the time to teach him how to write, having been an accomplished writer himself. The idea of hard work was instilled in him by his father, which he still holds in high regard to date.

“When I choose a true north, I go after it.” Bant described the importance of having a routine as a leader. He believes in keeping the spirit of moving forward and not dwelling on the failures that you experience as an entrepreneur.

He described his career failures as the ‘entrepreneur’s disease’ he suffered from during the time he struggled with the politics of organizations.

Timeline

[3:40] How Qnary works with executives to optimize their online presence.
[5:05] How Qnary helps executives be the spokespersons of their brands online.
[7:38] Bant described his childhood and his background in entrepreneurship.
[15:22] The lessons of good writing and hard work that Bant learned from his father.
[18:18] The importance of sticking to a calendar and having a routine as a leader.
[19:55] Bant’s career failure moment when he struggled with the politics of organizations.

Part 2: Hitting Rock Bottom+ Branding+ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Quotes:

“It’s exciting to see a culture development that has characteristics you believe in.”
“It is important for leaders to have a public presence.”
“Silence is the loudest, deafening, most dangerous statement.”
“If you’re not thinking about diversity, equity, and inclusion, you’re not thinking about business.”

Summary

Bant described the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as the rock bottom moment of his business after which things significantly turned around. He later got out of that complicated position and became the leader who needed to facilitate how things were supposed to be running.

He explained how Qnary spent many resources to build a better culture for the team to continue to work excellently remotely. He’s been facing the challenge of connecting at the individual level with team members who he only knows virtually. He’s also facing the challenge of product evolution, which he’s utilizing his knowledge in machine learning to accomplish at Qnary.

Bant is inspired by his family, but most importantly, his team and how it continues to develop with the same characteristics as his. He talked about why he didn’t build a company culture that was about him, but rather one that stands and sustains itself.

We discussed branding and what it means to grow a personal brand, which is about you, and core pillars that are the thread of who you are. Leaders need to have a public presence to connect to the outside world.

The future is changing and diversity, equity, and inclusion are about building a successful society and eventually a successful business. Leaders should stop thinking of diversity as doing others a favor but as a way to create a better place for everyone.

Bant explained why leaders should take action to make changes in an organization. He believes that brands and leaders are not taking radical positions on topics. There’s a need for a more diverse leadership structure which will be achieved by taking radical positions and not generalized stands on diversity.

Episode Timeline:

[2:17] Why the pandemic was Bant’s rock bottom moment as an entrepreneur.
[6:32] How they build a better culture and scaled at Qnary during the pandemic.
[10:40] The different challenges Bant is facing in business today.
[12:27] Bant explained how his team inspires him with their values and characteristics.
[14:02] Why he built a brand that stands on its own culture and not the founder’s culture.
[16:43] The meaning of personal branding for executives.
[18:42] The importance of having a public presence as a leader to build your brand.
[20:51] Bant’s advice on how to respond to negativity online as a leader.
[27:11] The need for brands and leaders to take a more radical position on diversity.

Part 3: Powerful Thought leadership+ How to Find Yourself

Quotes:

“No matter what profession you’re in, there’ll be a certain area that you would like to develop thought leadership.”
“There will come a point where an idea that you have at a larger company will not be appreciated or wanted by the larger company.”

Summary

We continued the conversation with Bant explaining the importance of thought leadership and it helps executives cultivate their ideas. You have to find where you’re going as you grow your personal brand as a leader, without spending too much time inwardly finding who you are.

As an entrepreneur, you may have to sit on your idea for a while to gauge if it’s something doable and run it by your loved ones to place them on the same page as you. Bant believes that there’s no problem in working for larger companies, but if you want to create something from your own ideas in the long run, starting your own company should be the way to go.

He explained why he’s worried about the world after the pandemic, plus his concern with society’s way of communicating and finding solutions to the problems we’re facing.

In the end, Bant answered my rapid-fire questions. Here he answered questions with deep one-sentence answers. Thank you for listening to this 3-part knowledge-rich interview!

Episode Timeline:

[2:18] How to be a thought leader and to cultivate unique ideas within an organization.
[7:06] Why you should first gauge your entrepreneurial idea before executing it.
[11:11] Why you should consider entrepreneurship as a long-term career goal.
[12:29] The different things that Bant worries about in business and society.
[15:10] Bant answers some rapid-fire questions.