Dragon Horse Agency is proud to share our very own Blake Renda’s interview with Bold Journey Magazine.
Blake shares his journey through entrepreneurialism and the birth of Dragon Horse Agency, Veedor Holdings, LLC, Moxie Creed, and Dragon Horse Publishing.
We caught up with the brilliant and insightful P. Blake Renda a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
P. Blake, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story, and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My work ethic was instilled in me by both my late mother and father. My father was born 1st generation Italian, and his family immigrated to the USA in 1900 from Sambiase, IT. My grandfather was a peasant. My father, despite being targeted by prejudice and racism as an Italian in those years, went on to be very successful. He became the co-team captain of the Ohio State University track team alongside the famous Jesse Owens. My father held the record for the mile in the college at that time in the 1930s. He then went on to become a pioneer in the aviation industry, working his way up to CEO/COO/COB of Western Airlines, starting Air Micronesia, and an executive with Continental Airlines. My mother was a highly degreed registered psychiatric nurse who, in her young years, was the second runner-up for the Miss America pageant in 1959 as Ms. Maryland. Both were incredible individuals and parents who instilled in me a strong work ethic and inspired me to pursue my dreams.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you.
I’ve been fortunate over the years to create and be presented with some terrific opportunities. I included these major setbacks as they are lessons and present opportunities to move forward and rise up better, stronger, and more knowledgeable. Out of college, where I graduated from The University of Southern California, I had the privilege to work at NBC Studios in Burbank after an extensive internship. For 5 years, I worked on a nationally syndicated TV show called Roggin’s Heroes with then-LA sportscaster Fred Roggin. Our show was an Emmy award-winning show syndicated in 186 markets. Being on the lot was amazing every day. We taped next to Studio 1 where they did The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the commissary was always a buzz with talent and activity. I soon found myself looking for a change in career and began working in the legal industry with a national firm while considering law school. It was while working with this firm that a decision I’d make would have a major impact on my life without me knowing. This firm was opening an office in Silicon Valley, the heart of venture capital and technology. I had always had a passion for investing and began reading the business section of business magazines at a very young age. With the opening of this new office in Palo Alto, CA, I identified an opportunity to put myself in the epicenter of venture capital and technology, two growing and dynamic areas. Fast forward, and I was working on the top technology fund in the country after creating an opportunity to put myself in a position for an opportunity. Three years into that role, I was a top-ranked Institutional Investor Magazine Best of the Buy Side Sector Fund Manager and Stock Picker. This set me on a path whereby I’d work as a Sector Fund Manager for a number of years with then J. & W. Seligman & Co., a storied old firm on Wall Street dating back to the 1800s, and then to another well-respected company, American Express Asset Management. These experiences paved the way for my entrepreneurial pursuit and the failures and successes that would follow in the years to come.
The entrepreneurial path isn’t for everyone. It is challenging, to say the least, and requires a strong backbone, a headstrong mentality, and deep commitment. Every day is filled with excitement, challenges, and opportunities, and this is what gets me out of bed in the morning. How am I going to be better today than yesterday, and what lies ahead? I love this. Today, I am the co-CEO of Veedor Holdings LLC in the USA and Veedor Holdings SRL in Italy. Under our company, we own and operate Dragon Horse Agency, a multi-award-winning business marketing services firm, https://www.dragonhorseagency.com, Dragon Horse Publishing, a multi-award-winning children’s book publisher, https://www.dragonhorsepublishing.com, and a E-commerce health and lifestyle company Moxie Creed, https://www.moxiecreed.com.
All of our companies are built on a platform of Integrity, Excellence, Experience, and Execution.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Integrity, without out you have nothing. Excellence, everday you should want to be a better person.
Experience, you accomplish this by action, getting out and doing, taking risks.
Execution, words and hopes are nice but action is necessary.
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am always interested in meeting new people, new experiences and opportunities to collaborate and partner whether with business associates, clients, or other. I have a deep commitment to excellence and a very strong drive and passion geared towards building successful businesses, experiences, and relationships. I first and foremost look to work, collaborate, partner or provide services to and with business, individuals, and others who share the same values. In today’s world I look at society as a whole and in business and I see a lot of entitlement, corner cutting, lack of discipline, and a lack of excellence or a desire to be excellent in life, love, business, friendships, parenting, etc.
Society as a whole needs to realize the benefits and importance of the African philosophy of “Ubuntu.” Ubuntu means, basically, “I am because we are.”
What if everyone in the world realized that their place in life , and life in general, would be a much better place if we put the best interests of someone else or society first vs. themselves. Imagine what kind of world this would be where we all succeed, we all improve , we all benefit based the actions of the group and greater society.
I am interested in working, collaborating, and partnering with businesses, individuals, organizations, etc. who pursue excellence, are committed and disciplined, have integrity and see the bigger picture. Our website is https://www.veedorholdingsllcsrl.com and there you can find ways to reach out.
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