Career Story

This interview was originally published on:

https://medium.com/authority-magazine/elliott-broidy-of-broidy-capital-holdings-5-things-i-wish-someone-told-me-before-i-became-a-96bc89c16d19

Your team is your greatest asset. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you in areas you need. You can’t do it all; trying is a recipe for burnout and makes failure more likely.

As a part of our interview series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Elliott Broidy.

Elliott Broidy is an entrepreneur who has used his extensive experience and talent to found, invest in, and in some cases, manage as CEO, more than 160 companies over his four-decade career. Since 2014, he has focused on technology businesses (including, more recently, AI) in the defense intelligence, homeland security, public safety, and law enforcement sectors. He is the Chairman and CEO of Broidy Capital Holdings, LLC, founded in 2022 in Boca Raton, FL, and its predecessor, Broidy Capital Management, headquartered in Los Angeles from 1991 to 2022.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I’ve always had a deep passion for buildings things, whether that be businesses, relationships, or solutions to real-world problems. The entrepreneurial mindset comes naturally to me. My entrepreneurial journey began in Los Angeles with a small investment business, which was a good start. But on 9/11 everything changed: my priorities, my interests, and where I felt I had to direct my businesses and attention. I felt a calling to dedicate all my skills, resources, and energy toward the public safety, defense, and security industries. I found myself profoundly motivated in those dark days to protect not only the United States, but our allies. Since that time, that has been my professional focus.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

In 2003, I founded a fund whose core mission was to invest in non-high-tech companies in Israel. I faced tremendous skepticism from potential investors. At the time, Israel was in the middle of the Second Intifada, a continuous terrorist assault by Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza that ultimately cost thousands of lives. There were horrible suicide bombings throughout the country, including at a Passover seder, restaurants, nightclubs, buses, and so on. In that context, many people couldn’t understand why I would want to invest resources there. But I knew the Israeli people. I believed in Israel’s economy and its resilience, which has been on display recently as well. So, I decided to stay the course, working closely with potential investors to build trust and achieve tangible results. Looking back, that challenging period increased the value I place on diligence and perseverance. In my opinion, those are the key attributes of the successful entrepreneur. There will always be challenges of some sort or another. The question is: how do you deal with them? How do you not quit? How do you think and work through it? Those are the crucial elements.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

In my life, I’ve been blessed with opportunities, and I have always felt a keen sense of purpose and responsibility. When you’re in that position, it’s important to make the most of it to help other people. I really can’t stress that enough. Whether I am investing in businesses that create jobs, or supporting causes that combat antisemitism, or contributing to public safety initiatives, I am proud of the important work that I am doing — but I know that there is a lot of important work to be done. That’s a key driver for me.

My lovely wife Robin and my three children are invaluable motivating factors. Every single day I wake up, and I think about them, and it inspires me to bear down, get to work, and create opportunities. I also think about my personal hero, Winston Churchill, and the adversity that he faced while leading Britain during World War II. Churchill once said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” I think about that quote often. Churchill said this in the context of fighting against Nazi Germany, which represented an existential threat not only to his country, but to Western civilization. The audience for that speech was Harvard students, who would go on to be our country’s leaders and prominent businessmen, lawyers, doctors, etc. He wanted to instill that conviction in them, because it is so profoundly true. So, I want to emphasize it to readers of Authority Magazine.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

Things are going very well. I moved from Los Angeles to Boca Raton, Florida in 2022 and started Broidy Capital Holdings, LLC, which focuses on technology, investments in defense, public safety, and AI. I am also the founder and Managing Partner of Threat Deterrence Capital Holdings, LLC and LEO Technologies Holdings, LLC.

Without an ample amount of grit and resilience, none of my success would have been remotely possible, I can tell you that. They’re the key ingredient to success. Success doesn’t come without setbacks, for anybody, in any field. Michael Jordan got cut from his high school team. Tom Brady was the 199th pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. J.K. Rowling’s manuscript for the first Harry Potter book was rejected a dozen times while she was living on welfare as a single mother. It’s about how you handle those setbacks and follow through.

Throughout my career there have been investments that didn’t pan out, a partnership that dissolved, and a lot of sleepless nights and headaches along the way. That’s how it goes. But it’s about the mindset with which you confront it. Do you let the setbacks define you, or do you perceive them as opportunities to grow and to thrive? I see them as opportunities. It is also important to be tactically flexible and adaptable while keeping a clear focus on the mission — this helps to turn obstacles into momentum.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Early on in my career, I recommended an investment in a company based in Hawaii that was pioneering deep-sea fishing for large shrimp. Unfortunately, the captain of the fishing vessel was drunk a lot — he had a bedspread in his captain’s quarters made from purple Chivas Royal bags that had been tied together. That should have been my first clue. I tried to work with him for almost two years to make the company successful. One day he went out to sea thousands of miles away from Hawaii without approval. When he came back, I was so mad that I fired him on the spot. Of course, his crew went with him. What I forgot was that there were thousands of pounds of deep-sea shrimp on the boat that needed to be unloaded. I enlisted my CFO and a few other employees to help me unload the ship. Someone lifted a crate out of the hold and threw it to the next guy. Each crate was heavy, and you had to do a deep knee bend to catch it properly. There were over 100 crates. At the end of the day, we were all in pain but mine was really severe. It turned out that I had a double hernia and needed surgery! Moral of the story: Think about the ramifications of firing someone before you fire them!

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Broidy Capital Holdings is uniquely focused on improving public safety and homeland security and leveraging emerging technologies such as AI in doing so. We are a powerfully motivated company. Nothing is more important than public safety and homeland security. Without them, nothing else is possible.

By investing in innovative technologies that assist law enforcement and defense agencies, we are making the world safer. For example, Circinus, LLC is a defense contractor that specializes in providing open source intelligence services to the U.S. government and in creating open source intelligence centers for U.S. allies in the Middle East. LEO Technologies, LLC is a software developer that creates state-of-the-art transcription and AI-based analysis software for law enforcement. I am deeply proud of the important work that these companies do for the betterment of our communities, the United States, and the world.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

The most important thing, which a lot of people overlook, is to prioritize your health. Without your health, you can’t have anything else. I have recently focused on fitness, walking daily and staying active. It is also important to dedicate time to disconnect from work and spend time with your family and friends, which gives you the fuel you need to be an effective leader. And without a support network, burnout and failure become that much more of a probability.

Another thing is learning to delegate effectively. Highly ambitious and highly driven people often have difficulty doing this. They want to do it all. But you can’t, it’s simply not possible, and you will burn out if you try. Assembling a team that you can trust, and then delegating to that team, gives you the time to recharge and allows and motivates your teammates to grow alongside you. It gives you the space you need to think strategically and to make important decisions.

Lastly, always remember why you started the business. Transport back in time to what motivated you in the first place. It is important to lean into that mindset. Purpose is what keeps you going day after day, week after week, month after month when the challenges seem truly insurmountable.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I’m especially grateful for my wife, Robin. She has always been my sounding board, my partner in every sense, and a steady source of wisdom. Early in my career, when I faced tough decisions, she encouraged me to make the choice that would be a win-win for both parties, trust my instincts and keep going. Her strength and insight have been invaluable, not only in business but in all aspects of my life. I can’t thank her enough.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Philanthropy is very important to me, and it is central to my life. As I said previously, success comes with the responsibility to give back. That was the ethos of the great philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and I very much subscribe to that view.

In that vein, my family donates considerably to Boca Regional Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida, the Boca West Children’s Foundation, and the Adolph and Rose Levis Jewish Community Center. In the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, we have made it even more of a priority to contribute to organizations dedicated to fighting antisemitism and saving lives in Israel. As such, we are proud to support organizations like Friends of the IDF, Magen David Adom, The Counter Extremism Project (which is now more focused on combating antisemitism), the Jewish Agency, and many law firms and organizations fighting the good fight against antisemitism on U.S. college campuses and elsewhere.

These causes are near and dear to my heart. I am proud to support them and to contribute in any way to their positive impacts.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why?

1. Trust your instincts but back them up with data and think through the ramifications. Gut feelings are powerful and very important, but decisions are best made with as much accurate information as possible. Think through the possible consequences — remember my example of the deep-sea fishing boat above!
2. Mistakes are not failures; they’re lessons. Every setback will teach you something valuable if you let it. Each one is a learning opportunity and a chance to improve. This mindset is nonnegotiable to be a successful entrepreneur.
3. Your team is your greatest asset. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you in areas you need. You can’t do it all; trying is a recipe for burnout and makes failure more likely.
4. Balance matters. Success in business should never come at the expense of your health or relationships with your loved ones. Take a long walk. Make sure to connect with family and friends.
5. Stay grounded in your purpose. Remember why you started, whether it’s your family, your mission, or the difference you want to make in the world. This will keep you focused and allow for clear strategic thinking.

Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?

The emotional highs and lows are inevitable, but I’ve learned that staying grounded is key. When things are going well, I remind myself to stay humble. When times are tough, I lean on my family and my values to keep perspective. I’ve also learned the importance of taking breaks when needed — you can’t lead effectively if you’re running on empty. These are important ways to try to avoid those emotional highs and lows, which can be exhausting and, for some people, enough of a reason to get off the roller coaster ride entirely.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

If I could start a movement, it would be one that focuses on empowering the next generation. Whether it’s through education, mentorship, or access to opportunities, giving young people the tools they need to succeed is the key to building stronger communities and a better future. When I am not working, I mentor young people trying to figure out their next step in life, whether it be which university or graduate school to attend, which industry to start in, or how to get ahead in their professions. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is to me. I believe in supporting programs that help underprivileged youth, foster children, and students with big dreams, because they’re the leaders of tomorrow.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Readers can check out my blog on Medium and follow me on X, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

My pleasure. Thank you for having me.