One Entrepreneur On the Start: Todd Davis

This is part of a series called "The Entrepreneurs On The Start."  This interview is with Todd Davis.

What was your first business venture?

I was still in college at Baylor University, getting an entrepreneurship/management degree, and my entrepreneurship professor asked me to come work for one of the ventures he had started with a professor from the natural sciences department. We were selling wastewater treatment technology, but to pay the bills, I would help write business plans for small or family-owned ventures that needed help to grow or go out and get funding.

What made you want to go into business for yourself?

I think all entrepreneurs are driven internally to take full responsibility for their destiny. It is easy to blame the decision-makers in a company if things aren't going well, but the true entrepreneur wants to take away any excuses and stand or fall by their own decisions, not to look to others to set the strategy or direction.

Would you go into business, if you had it to do over again?  Why or why not?

Absolutely I would do it again. It is the most rewarding experience in the world to see an idea come to fruition and to be able to positively affect so many lives.

What were some of your biggest lessons learned about starting a business?

I have learned to be thick-skinned, as you will hear from many why you won't be successful and you will have your critics. If you believe in what you are doing, you can stand tall and face the criticism and persevere.

What advice would you have for others considering going into business for themselves?

Make sure that you have a clear vision and understanding of how you will go be disruptive in the market of your choice. You must be able to clearly and concisely articulate your value proposition to perspective buyers, investors, partners, and employees and be ready to do it over and over again with the same passion each time. The other most important advice I would give is to raise more money than you believe you will need as the cash is the fuel needed to get your rocketship of the ground and to get out of the gravitational pull so that you don't come crashing down.

Todd Davis knows how to make people take notice. Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of LifeLock, Inc., a multiple award-winning company, Davis built an organization at the forefront of combating identity theft and related crimes. His efforts have been recognized with numerous regional and national business, consumer and leadership awards. He's been nominated three times for the American Award's Best Executive. And, under his leadership, LifeLock was also honored by a 2009 American Business People's Choice Award for its TrueAddressTM service. Learn more about LifeLock at: www.LifeLock.com.