Q&A WITH MARK LOVAS

Q: Tell us about Mark Lovas before Cutco.

• “Socially challenged”
• The first 4 jobs I had in high school I was fired from all of them.
• Cutco was really the only place that would have me at this point.
• I was one of those kids who had social anxiety. I didn’t have a ton of friends at school.
• At my job at Taco Bell, I showed up on time. The only problem was I made up my nametags every day. That got me fired.
• I also got fired from my next job making sandwiches because I was eating most of what I was making.
• I just wasn’t great at working.

Q: You were lucky to encounter Brad Britton when you came to Cutco. To have a chance to work with somebody who’d be patient and nurturing for you. It helped you along.

• I was super-fortunate.
• When I first met Brad, I was a new sales rep.
• He was a lot of fun to work with. I was so impressed by him.
• He was just always so positive.
• I didn’t know people like that who gave you time and attention.
• He was interested in investing time into me.
• It was the first time someone outside my family believed in me.
• He was a spectacular leader. It was a good summer 1991.

Q: How did you hear about Cutco?

• I saw a job listing and answered the call just like everyone.
• I showed up and went for this interview. It was the first interview where I wasn’t wasting my time.
• I was excited about the idea I could make money, but didn’t have to show up when they wanted me to.
• At first, I took that up seriously, and didn’t show up at all.
• Then eventually, something caught my eye. What caught my eye was somebody was recognized for a $1,000 day.
• I was thinking, why that person? What’s the deal with that person? I think I’m good as that person.
• I decided I needed to have a $1,000 day
• Once I decided to do that, and did it, it was the first time maybe in my life I’d set a goal in a job and achieved it.

Q: What other key moments stand out from your career?

• The other key moment was when I started making phone calls and being semi-rejected.
• Rejection at school was hard enough and as I mentioned I didn’t have self-confidence.
• I also remember people I became friends with … John Avila, Janak Ramachandran, …
• This was the first time in my life where friendships were based on what we wanted to achieve in life.
• Cutco attracts young people who want to do something different and are looking for more than the usual.
• I found out I had uniquely high-quality friendships developing that I’d never yet had in my life.

Q: So, you were a rep in 1991. You were an assistant manager in 1992 and then you ran branch in 1993. You had a chance to go to Tacoma where you ran your branch and ended up being #1 in the company. How did you flip the switch from the old Mark Lovas into this champion manager and dynamic leader you became?

• Working with Brad. He was the most nurturing manager out there.
• But he is also honest because he’s invested in you and put a lot of trust in you.
• I remember a moment when I wanted to be an assistant manager.Brad was clear about the ways in which I needed to develop.
• I was leagues away from branch. There was no way that could happen in 1992.
• I decided I needed to learn how to talk with people, how to be social.
• I’m going to start listening more, paying attention and when I write things down, I’m going to do them.
• The 2^nd moment was when I saw you (Dan) speak. You gave a message in Oregon and it stood out for me. I said I want to be that kind of person who can give that kind of talk.
• Those were the moments that propelled me to learn the things I needed to learn.

Q: After that summer, I know you went back to school and graduated. You went back to Washington and became a District Manager. I can remember visiting you in 1997 in Seattle and just observing you because you were doing so well. Then you became Division Manager and your team was #1 four years in a row, and in one of those years, you were also building a 2^nd division. What were some of the keys to building a perennial national champion division?

• There was only myself and one other person when I started as DVM.
• The business was going to be built on the Branch Manager opportunity.
• I thought if I can be a successful branch, I can teach anyone to do it because these people have talents I didn’t have.
• I came into it with a deep-seated belief anybody could do this if they execute the right things.
• I also had a tremendous responsibility for my people’s success.
• I relate DVM closest to being a college coach.
• You identify talent, build the relationship early over a 4-year span, then you really go for a season (Summer).
• You have this preparation period with young people, a talent identification and recruiting period, and then the period of execution.
• I made sure we had a clear vision. Everybody collaborating in it which was becoming #1 division.
• We had really clear focus skillsets which we all understood.
• When you put that together, year over year, you’re going to end up with pretty dynamic results.

Q: You developed other real champions during your time building the division. How does that work? how did you flip that switch for them?

• We had a winning program.
• It said, if you do these things and follow this program, you’ll have your best shot at success.
• We focused on skill development, but also mental development in our preparation process.
• If you were in our process, you were loved and believed in.

Q: Does anything else stand out as some of the key roles and responsibilities of a great leader?

• Sometimes when you think you know it all, you don’t know anything at all.
• Coming out of Cutco, I felt I knew all about leadership.
• Once I started a business with new types of pressures, financial pressures, like raising tens of millions of dollars of capital, having a board of directors, it revealed more about myself.
• You need to recruit tons of people in leadership, and make sure your process is transparent enough.
• The 2^nd part is creating a place where people get their job done.
• That’s the most important thing I’ve learned as a leader in business.

Q: Let’s talk a little bit about Trumaker because I think people could gain a lot from hearing about your experience. Tell us about that journey.

• I decided I wanted to start a company.
• I had several offers after business school.
• One job offer was paying nothing, but I’d be around a really dynamic startup team, at Bonobos.
• I went for it because if I wanted to run a company, this was probably the right move.
• I was going to be around the right kind of people and be learning how to start a company.
• When I started dressing well and people complimented me, it impacted me.
• I thought that’s creating a level of confidence and I became a fan of clothing.
• I started Trumaker. We raised money from these people I was always impressed by.
• We got started in New York City and moved to San Francisco.
• We made $4 million in our 2^nd year and got a bit under $10 million in our 3^rd
• We ended up selling the company after 5 years.

Q: What’s next? What are you most excited about right now?

• I’m working with Dave Durand, at Best Version Media, and I’m running all things digital.
• We have a couple of projects right now.
• We have BVM Sports which is a place where local sports is celebrated, something like ESPN.
• I’m also the CEO of a software platform for small businesses called Myopolis, which leverages all forms of communication and puts them in one inbox.
• It allows a small business to have the tools that big businesses utilize to convert leads or generate reorders.
• I also have a side project which is my passion.I love wine.
• Over the years, I’ve learned I love wine that’s at the right price and the right health profile.
• I started a wine club called Good Weather Wine that will soft-launch next week.

Q: Is there any other advice you would have or insights you want to share?

• If you’re going to be somewhere, be there.
• Decide what you want.
• So, no matter what part of your work experience you are in Cutco, to exist without having made a decision of what you want to have, will be to discount yourself in time.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• When Mark became a leader, he felt a sense of responsibility for others’ success.
• If you’re a leader of any sort, I’d encourage you to think about why are your people working.
• Well, we work so we can have the life, the lifestyle we want.
• The experiences and opportunities we want outside work, that’s why we work.
• A great leader shouldn’t just be helping people with their jobs, but also help them in their lives and their visions.
• Mark talked about teaching people, whether it’s skills development and also mental conditioning.
• I loved the last advice Mark gave, wherever you are, be there and decide what you want. 

RESOURCES

• https://www.myopolis.com/
• Enter “CLSK” at checkout to receive free shipping from Mark’s new wine club.
• https://goodweatherwine.com/