LLC Twitter and Instagram will lead you to believe that the only way to achieve success is to work long hours with little rest and self-care. The social media gurus will also try to persuade you that entrepreneurship is a magical, stress-free path to financial freedom. That is not correct.
There are numerous advantages to having a side hustle, working until you win, and having the independence of business ownership. Most successful entrepreneurs, however, will tell you that the growth journey is not entirely black and white. It also has a lot of gray areas because every business, person, and idea is different.
And, while meme culture on LLC Twitter and Instagram creates a false sense of reality, some universal truths exist that can help every aspiring business owner thrive. Luke Cooper joins the conversation at this point.
Luke Cooper is the CEO and managing partner of Latimer Ventures, but his story goes back much further.
Cooper is a serial investor and entrepreneur who graduated from Syracuse Law School. Cooper has a diverse business background, having worked as a counsel for State Farm as well as an investor and executive with other startups.
Fixt Inc., a “SaaS-based mobile device repair web and mobile app that takes the hassle out of troubleshooting mobile device issues,” was his most profitable venture.
We stand in solidarity against racism and injustice.
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•#fixt #fixthq #justice pic.twitter.com/U9I5zTJFfp— FIXT (@FixtHQ) June 3, 2020
The father of two was able to find success during the pandemic when he sold Fixt to Assurant in a deal worth more than 11x of the company’s revenue, according to an interview.
He now leads his venture capital firm, in addition to serving on several boards and as an advisor to numerous companies.
Latimer Ventures’ goal is to help underrepresented entrepreneurs succeed in business.
“As one of the only VC-backed Black founders here [Baltimore, Maryland], it made me unique, but it also made it super difficult,” Cooper said in a statement to Technical.ly. “Even after a prior exit, I struggled to raise money, and it wasn’t always clear why. It’s frustrating to constantly get grilled 3x as much as the next person.”
While Cooper’s journey as a businessman is noteworthy, he admits there are some things he wished someone would’ve told him before becoming a CEO.
In a 2021 interview with Charlie Katz, Cooper was a part of the “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO” series. In it, he explained his commitment to assisting BIPOC founders and CEOs while offering some insight on things he wished he knew that could help others navigate the entrepreneurial space.
- Get a dog, get a therapist, invest in Crypto.
- They love when they love you, they hate you when they hate you. Don’t try to please everyone.
- Lean in deeply to feedback from the people that work around you, even when it’s not favorable. It’s ok to look for patterns here.
- It’s ok to show up as your whole self… everyday.