Thursday Thought Leader: Adam Potter

Adam Potter, CEO of CLM and Business Insurance Magazine, shares his wisdom on this week's Thursday Thought Leader.

Adam Potter: if you don’t know him, then you need to get him on your radar right now. He’s a leader in the insurance industry, with a long list of achievements to his name. He’s most notably known as the Founder and CEO of The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, more commonly referred to as CLM … Read more

Thursday Thought Leader: Jon Wroten

We think Jon Wroten won the career lottery. At first glance, it looks like he’s just one of the regular faces at industry events, making sure he lives up to his title as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Compliance and Quality at Sedgwick. Not too bad of a life, right? That’s already a win. What … Read more

Thursday Thought Leader: Jonathan Mast

Jonathan Mast, Director of Social Media at Sedgwick, shares his wisdom on this week's Thursday Thought Leader.

In the insurance and risk management industry, one of the most influential people on social media is without a doubt, Jonathan Mast, Director of Social Media at Sedgwick. We were new to Twitter last year and when we finally joined, finding Jonathan was a no-brainer. He is a master at the social game and his … Read more

Thursday Thought Leader: Tammy Boyd

Tammy Boyd, VP of Business Development and Marketing at NeuroInternational, shares her wisdom on this week's Thursday Thought Leader.

Tammy Boyd is a straight up certified GIRLBOSS. Are they giving out certificates for that yet? If not, we’re starting the trend. For those who are unfamiliar, a GIRLBOSS is a woman who is in charge of her own life, as coined by Sophia Amoruso, the founder of mega fashion retailer NastyGal. To us, Tammy … Read more

Thursday Thought Leader: Mark Pew

Also known as the RxProfessor on Twitter and amongst his peers, Mark Pew is the go-to man when it comes to answering questions on drugs’ effects in Workers’ Comp. As the Senior Vice President of Product and Marketing at Preferred Medical, a pharmacy benefit management and ancillary services company, he’s dedicated his life to the … Read more

Thursday Thought Leader: Allen Eraut

Allen Eraut shares his wisdom on this week's Thursday Thought Leader.

It’s hard not to feel calmed by Allen Eraut’s warm smile and easy-going demeanor. On top of that, he’s a huge proponent of green living, evident in the way he rides his bike to work and encourages his colleagues to compost. All of his efforts have helped his company become Oregon Business magazine’s 100 Best … Read more

Thursday Thought Leader: Michele Hibbert

Michele Hibbert, VP Information Management and Support at Mitchell, shares his wisdom on this week's Thursday Thought Leader.

You never know who you’re going to meet and how they will change your life. You just can’t plan for that. Earlier this year, we attended the National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference in New Orleans, LA. At a pre-conference event inspiring women’s leadership in the workplace, luck had it that we would sit at … Read more

Thursday Thought Leader: Patrick Murray

They say that once you pop, you just can’t stop. Okay, maybe Pringles coined that saying, but its truth still stands. Patrick Murray is a perfect example of someone who opened the can of entrepreneurialism over ten years ago and never turned back. He’s founded several companies during his time — from Pilot Taxi and Shuttle, an easy and affordable transportation solution to students in Panama City, to LA Discount Tickets, the best way to find highly discounted theme park tickets.

Now he’s moved on to his latest and greatest idea: Noson. This venture takes an old-school industry of airport parking and simplifies it with technology. Finally! What we love most about Murray is that he is a sponge to learning about new industries and introducing simple, yet radical approaches. All of his companies have been profitable and he’s moved on purely to grow and learn more. Knowing this, we just had to dig deeper into this mastermind’s thought process.

Patrick Murray, CEO and Co-Founder of Noson Inc., shares his wisdom on this week's Thursday Thought Leader.

You’ve been involved in many companies across different industries. What led you to each one and why were you inclined to diversify beyond just one type of company?

When I graduated college I had a boat load of student loans to pay off. The options that I weighed were: get a corporate job, do my own thing and bootstrap, or do my own thing and find investors. I interviewed for corporate jobs and felt a terrible feeling about the offers I got- like I was selling out on my dreams. So that was out (much to the dismay of my parents). Then when I decided to start my own thing, I didn’t really know any investors, so I left myself with the option to bootstrap. The goal of the first company was to fund my lifestyle and the student loan payments I needed make. I found a good selling product online after some research, talked my Dad into lending me $5,000, and went at it. As new opportunities presented themselves with higher payouts, I’d lie to myself and say I could do both, and end up working full time on the new project. All of this led up to me finally coming to the Bay Area to work on something bigger than just affording me a lifestyle and to pay off my student loans.

Patrick Murray, CEO and Co-Founder of Noson Inc., shares his wisdom on this week's Thursday Thought Leader.
They say that the key to success is dressing up for the role you want, not the one you have. Looks like Noson took this to heart at a young age.

Although every company you’ve been part of is different, what is one striking similarity you discovered in management and culture?

Great question. I truly believe companies and teams succeed when there is a positive and encouraging atmosphere in the workplace for everyone to put in their full efforts towards the mission. If our company is good at nourishing this type of culture, we’ll succeed, bad at it, we’ll fall apart.

What excites you most about your current venture, Noson?

There are a lot of things that excite me with this new venture, including my world-class business partner, Brett Harwood, but one that sticks out is the business model. We have created a business model where we truly put each party’s best interest in mind. Like we take their shoes off of our travelers, put them on, and walk around in them a little. We do the same with investors, partners, employees. Really cater our business model to all of them.  If we are able to prove this business model at scale, we can prove to other entrepreneurs that you don’t have to just make investors happy, or just your customer, or just employees. You can make everyone happy, and have a successful company too.

What drives you to wake up every morning and tackle your to do list?

Embarrassingly I think I’m just addicted to my business. There are so many things constantly changing in the business that it’s fun for me to make the new tweaks that need done and see how our travelers enjoy them. If that doesn’t work– a pot (or three) of Runa’s guayusa tea will get me where I need to be :).

Patrick Murray, CEO and Co-Founder of Noson Inc., shares his wisdom on this week's Thursday Thought Leader.
Murray seems to have always chosen love and happiness, aka: cookies.

As another new year rolls in, do you have a theme or resolution for the year?

Choose love, choose happiness. I’m that type of person that gets caught up in goals and resolutions and could write pages of goals for 2017. I find that I distract myself sometimes with all of those goals, and though I still have some – the biggest is to choose love and choose happiness. (cough* 30 markets by the end of the year too cough*)

Stay connected with Murray on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Thursday Thought Leader: Steven Owen

We met Steven Owen, President and Owner of Southern Claim Solutions, when we became exhibit booth buddies at this year’s Property and Casualty Insurers Association of America conference. Have you ever experienced a moment when you connect with someone right off the bat? We can’t quite put our finger on it, but his genuine heart … Read more

Thursday Thought Leader: Stephanie Douglas

Stephanie Douglas is one of those incredibly cool kids that you’ve always dreamed of being. Her professional career began when she became a special agent for the FBI, a journey that lasted over two decades. Not only was Douglas part of an extremely high-end operation, she is also an expert in security, investigations, and policy. … Read more