Since 2014, Amerine has been the key leader in driving the growth and success of the Startup Junkie Consulting entrepreneurial support organization. He also launched the 501(c)(3) Startup Junkie Foundation and served as the original chairman.
If you could send a one-sentence message back in time to yourself on your first
day as an executive, what would it say? You don’t need to have all the answers — surround yourself with great people, hold them accountable, but trust them. And don’t wait to make the hard calls.
What legacy or footprint do you most want your organization to leave behind? A stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem — where innovators and business owners have the resources, relationships and confidence to build great companies, create jobs and strengthen their community.
What tech investment has given your organization the highest return on investment in the past two years? Calendly has been a game changer for scheduling across our team. Zapier has also been great integrating tech tools. Shout-out to our systems leader Matthew Ward for the implementation.
If you could trade places with any employee in your company for a day, which role would you pick and why? Kris Adams on our team runs the statewide tech program called ARise in partnership with AEDC that’s having a massive impact. I’d enjoy sitting in his seat for a few days. He’s incredible, though, and I know I could not do nearly the job he’s doing in that role. We’ve done a good job of building a team of people who are smarter and better than us at what they do. As such, I’d really be dropping the ball for us if I switched places with any of them.
What is your go-to cure for a bad case of decision fatigue? Walking out in the sun and lifting weights.
What is the most critical skill the next generation of leaders needs to develop? Leadership, initiative and creativity.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received from a mentor? No single piece of advice. My dad ingrained in me growing up how important basic human traits are like discipline, attention to detail, organization, timeliness and responsiveness, and that has really helped me in life and as a leader. I’m also a big fan of Sam Walton’s sundown rule, and live by it — get done what you can today before the sun goes down.
What is your ultimate hidden superpower that isn’t listed on your LinkedIn profile? Responsiveness.
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