Interview with Larry Covert, Entrepreneur and Investor

Larry Covert was the son of a policeman and a beautician, with no plans to go to college. His life changed when he visited University of Alabama where he met the love of his life who led him to Christ. He is a highly successful entrepreneur and investor with an amazing story, who gives all the glory to God.

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Guest - Larry Covert
Host - Carl Grant
Producer - Seth Grant

Transcript

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Carl Grant: 0:06

I'm here with Larry Covert, an entrepreneur and an investor here in Austin, Texas, Larry, normally, it's easy for me to introduce my guests, because they have one title for one company that turns off with what you get your hands on, like five different things. So I'm gonna let you introduce what it is that you do. And then we're going to talk about how you do what you do.

Larry Covert: 0:29

Well, thank you, Carl, it's first of all It's a pleasure to be with you here on this podcast. I really appreciate what you do. And you're certainly well respected and regarded gentlemen here in Austin, Texas. Welcome to Texas. And, yeah, thanks for having me on. So I'll tell you, I do not have a classical background or traditional background, by any means. And I've just been very fortunate to have some wonderful people come into my life at certain times, and lift me up with a painting. So I do appreciate those kind of blessings that have happened in my life. Real quick, just so you can appreciate what I just said. I grew up in Mississippi, my father was a policeman. My mother was a beautician. And no one really went to college. And that wasn't on the radar. I figured I'd graduate high school work for the city, running cable or something. And one weekend, right after high school, like, I just drove up at the request of one of my buddies is going Alabama, he said,"Come visit me for the weekend", within 45 minutes, not only did my car break down, but I met the love of my life, who was a student there, Suzanne, and that moment changed my life. She brought me to Christ one and two, she set me on a path that I never would have gone down before. And that was going to college. And you know, creating your career outside of little Meridian, Mississippi off I 20. And I found this fervor and this determination that I've never had in my life before. So I got into Alabama, that's another story for another day. And graduated work for the bank called South Trust at the time and went through a series of mergers. I think now it's Wells Fargo. But at the time, it was South trust. I was working for the CEO in special projects, and I was watching kind of watching the internet come alive. This was 97, 98, and 99. And I felt like I was missing out. I was doing corporate m&a for the bank. right out of college. I don't know how I got that that role, but I did. I still feel like I was missing out. So I went to get my graduate school pursuit at Rollins college. And within the first week there I met two other people that changed my life. One was the Sinof family, or Lord real estate family out of Orlando. And I met to Harvard Baker scholars. were launching a venture capital firm in Orlando, called Mill Comments Eric Chen and Matt biggie. So I started working for the family doing real estate, and then working for the Harvard VCs, learning deep tech, primarily defense tech out of Los Alamos and in other labs, that it's very, very different industries at the time, but also both very interesting to me. So I was I was working full time on my schooling, to get the degree but I was also working with the family and working with the venture firm. The fortunate thing is both of those. Those opportunities have been with me ever since I still do deals with the senate family. I still do work with the venture, the venture guys so you know, it's just interesting. These people come in my life and not just can't, you know, get talking about how much I've been blessed to meet people like my wife and like the setups in Eric and Matt. But along the way we've done development deals, we've created wreaths weaving the sin of family in their company called CNL. And I we bought the Grand Wailea Whistler, the green monster Torrey Pines, just incredible properties in a read format. And then with the venture guides, I've done a company similar to Blackwater with them. As an advisor. We've invested in some wonderful companies, like through the pandemic, we invested in a company called molecule, which is kind of like air fresheners a bit kills viruses instead of bad smells. But it's done extremely well. And then recently, the Sinof family and I did a development near the airport, near a little park called McKinney falls, and that was just right before the pandemic, and then we see this big influx of population and companies coming to Austin and it just seems like you're It's kind of working out.

Carl Grant: 5:03

Well, Larry, yeah. Yeah, well, you're a special guy, right? Because like, I had lunch with you recently, and I wanted to know all this stuff. But I didn't get one bit of that out of you. Because all you wanted to know was about me. And, and it was a little frustrating. But of course, you know, I'm happy to share about me, but I wanted to know about you. And, and so when we met, I came away with just the thought that you know, this is this is a special guy, like, he's done all these things, accomplish all this stuff. But he was like, have you ever read Dale Carnegie? How to Win Win Friends and Influence People?

Larry Covert: 5:46

It's been a long time. Yeah, yeah. But

Carl Grant: 5:48

but but but you're very Dale Carnegie esque, if you will. And, and, and so I came away from that conversation, thinking it was a great conversation, but I realized I did all the talking. And, and I and I genuinely wanted to know about you, but I, but you know, when I meet with somebody like you, I know you're a genuine person, because you, you wouldn't you wouldn't tell me about you. You just kept asking me about me. And and I think you're far more interesting than myself. So anyways, that and one of the things I want to say about you, Larry, for some reason, when I met you, and you asked me about myself, he said, Tell me your story. And I, I don't know what prompted me to do it. But there was something about you, where I didn't tell the normal story. I told you the faith related story of my journey. And and that's a whole different story, right? When you inject God into the equation, and you tell tell the real story, it's different. And I don't know what it is about you that prompted me to do that. But there was something that did. And so I just want to explore this a little bit what you know, I imagine the success that you've had throughout your career, and I know you've been very successful. So I've heard because you didn't tell me. Others have? How have How have those human relationship skills that you may not even realize that you have played into this equation?

Larry Covert: 7:10

Man, well, Carl, it was a great lunch, by the way. Thank you. That was awesome. And I'd love to hear your story I thought was a pretty incredible story. There were there were several moments in there, where I was just kind of white knuckling through it, I mean, you, you've done some great things, and push through and build that scar tissue that creates wisdom. So I am really enjoyed your story. So thank you for that. Yeah, I would say growing up without any money, created this resourcefulness that has really served me well, through my life. I'm certainly kind of, you know, I've my antennas up, so to speak, or you're scoping horizon circling wagons for opportunity. And I think when you get to the day of serendipity is all around you if you just look for it. And I think that's what I've been really good at. But, you know, God gave me an interest in other people. And my undergrad was psychology, which I absolutely loved. I just knew that I couldn't support a family on that, at least in the way that I wanted to. And that's why I went to grad school, but that, you know, trying to listen as much as possible, you know, put my faith and in my greater power, which is my God, Jesus Christ, you know, to really empower you, and not putting that that larger task on yourself, which is listening intently, you get to, you know, into a lot of interesting opportunities and relationships. And that's what I've always tried to do. I just, and everybody's very interesting at the end of the day, you know, their stories. So always been kind of a student of that.

Carl Grant: 8:59

Yeah, sounds like a lot of a lot of this relates back to your faith in, in somehow. I sense when you ask me that question that I should answer in that way. And that's risky thing to do. You know, I mean, you think about it, I, I just met you, I was just introduced to you. And, and you said, Tell me your story. And I had to think about it. Like, what story? Do I tell? Do I tell like the story in the flesh? Or do I tell the story in the spirit? And most of these podcasts don't go here, Larry. I mean, this is this is an unusual podcast that we're talking about this, but something prompted me maybe it was God, I don't know. But, but but I launched into it. And I realized I was taking a risk. Because if you launch into that story, and you don't have a very receptive listener on the other side to that story, you know, you've just, you've just stepped in it right. And and it

Larry Covert: 9:51

Could sit down pretty quick. Yeah,

Carl Grant: 9:52

but but but but you opened up and then you know, and

Larry Covert: 9:56

I loved it that, I felt like I'd known you a long this doesn't happen every business lunch. I have But we prayed before we ate. And I always, always remember those right? Like, because that's not an everyday occurrence. It's a, you know, 1 in 20. Right? I mean, it's it. Maybe it's coming from Mississippi and Alabama, maybe that's more usual for you. But I come from back in the East Coast, and it's not a normal thing out there. Trust me. time, it was like, Carl, buddy, I just met you. You'll feel like we're old college friends.

Carl Grant: 10:28

Yeah.

Larry Covert: 10:29

Yeah. Great way about you.

Carl Grant: 10:31

Yeah.So we're brothers in the Lord. And, and, and it's a and we have a connection that, you know, maybe some of our listeners will understand, maybe some won't, maybe some will want to want to have that connection and want to understand it. Greater and, and, and the role that he's played in, you said that he gives you an interest in other people. And, and just this talk, talk about how that worked. Because you went to Alabama in Alabama is a good school. My sister went there, but then you went to Rollins college. Right? You get your MBA there, right. But then I saw that you went back to Harvard Business School, that and that, that caught my attention, because because I went to Harvard Business School as well. For some reason you and I both felt like we had to go to Harvard, right? Like, all these smart people were dealing with went to Harvard. And then you get there and you're like, Okay, this is, this is okay. Right. The people are okay.

Larry Covert: 11:23

So mysterious, you know, it's like, I'm working and doing business with these people who have Harvard next to their name. And it was in the and there great people. I mean, though, yeah, they're just people. Yeah. But there's still that all and that mystery. And I wanted so bad to just experience just a little taste of that. It was super cool. My professors there were at the time, Felder Hardman from Bessemer, Paul Gompers, Josh Lerner, both who have well, primarily Josh Lerner, you know, kept in touch with over the years and just really fascinating, smart people that I always paying to get some intel from, but they're, they're just great people. And again, yeah, it's just I really wanted to experience and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to. I actually did, there's a nice story there. There was a deal that I was working with the Sinof family, and I did a deal with them. I said, Hey, if we get this done, you're gonna send me there. And they were like, Yeah, right. And I said, Well, what if I get it done in this amount of time? You know, an abbreviated calendar. I got it done. And they sent me they were good on their word, of course, because they are, but it made it fun.

Carl Grant: 12:41

Well, you know, that the Harvard the whole Harvard thing played into what this podcast that I'm doing right now, I, I also got my company to sponsor me to go, which was pretty cool. And, and so I'm sitting in this room, and I see that there's 88 people in the class. It's an executive ed class, right? And, and I, my gosh, you know, they made almost a million dollars off this class, right? You know, that's, and then you look, and there's like, lots of classes. And there's lots of buildings, I'm like, this is big. This is big business. And, and so the idea for doing this podcast was data collection, or any appreciate this as an entrepreneur, data collection around business development. And because I previously went back to Ohio University, where I went as an undergraduate, and I spoke to the kids there, I was asked to come talk to the kids, like, I thought I was gonna do some q&a. They turned over a classroom to me for an hour and a half, where I had to last tought, yeah, like, I had nothing prepared. And so I just talked about what I do. And I got all these messages about, you know, oh, you're the best speaker we ever had. And I want your job, and how do I get that? You know, and so I realized there was an interest in what I did. And nobody was talking about business development and professional services environment. And then when I went to Harvard, and I realized that you could actually make money, developing curriculum and teaching, I figured, you know what, I'm going to do a podcast. And I'm going to ask everybody, what they do to learn business development, and I'm going to aggregate all this material, and I'm going to turn it into curriculum one day. So you tell me, yes. That's a good idea or not, I don't know. But that's what we're doing right now. So you're gonna be the, the god factor in all this, right? Because you're the first one who's really come in and talked about how your faith has played into into your success.

Larry Covert: 14:30

I think what you're doing is amazing. Even when you have a great cadence in your voice, you have a wonderful, you know, podcast voice, if you will, and not just the cadence of them, but the the sound the tonality. And you're still good. I left when I call my wife, I said, I just met the most fascinating guy. I started telling her I said, he works it you know, there's a law firm, but he does business development, but it's so much more than just the broad business development. I mean, he's he's creating Companies what he's doing in the law firm is a tool to help lift those companies up, how validating how meaningful that is huge.

Carl Grant: 15:11

I feel blessed to have this role, I get to live out my entrepreneurial instincts and aspirations through others and, and I get to do it every day on all sorts of different businesses. So Larry, man, 15 minutes is flown by so fast with you, just like that our lunch. So I want to ask you as we close, if if somebody is listening in, and the young person like you were, you know, with, with parents that have, you know, good just, you know, salt of the earth jobs, but but not going to college? What advice do you have for young person who wants to aspire to do what you do today?

Larry Covert: 15:49

Well, I wrote something about this, I'll send it to you, Carl, but I think just reverse engineer your life. Take a few moments off off the phone or the computer, maybe find you a trail or just go outside on a nice day and spend some time introspecting looking into the future, say you're 45 years old, just project it, try to reverse engineer that, like, what does it look like? And does the path you're on right now get you there? It seems so simple, but I think people do that way too late in their life. So do that when you're a teen do that when you're early 20s and you're having fun, but reverse engineer and make sure that you're on course. And if you are a believer or want to have faith, you investigate that as well. And just make sure you're following the guidance 1000s to death year old guidance and that and that instruction book. So you know, I didn't have that that luxury. My wife introduced me to God, but prior to that, the I just was not reverse engineering. My future. And I think that's so important.

Carl Grant: 17:05

Larry Covert, Praise God. Great advice. Thank you.

Larry Covert: 17:09

Thank you Carl, Good man. I'll see you this wee