The Life and Times of a Self-Made Entrepreneur

A true entrepreneur is someone who starts a business from scratch, hoping to find success at the end of the tunnel. He does so consistently, regardless of failure; he does not take negative outcomes personally, and most important, he is persistent, if not obsessive about success. But that’s not all an entrepreneur is. What truly lies behind the curtain of being an entrepreneur?  An almost obscene amount of hard work, determination, willpower, purpose, hope, tears, pain and sweat come together to spell out success. Most successful entrepreneurs hold themselves accountable to a high standard; the one they set out for themselves. A living example of this is Gustavo Gabriel Dolfino, the Uruguayan born American legendary investment banker, who started from scratch and went on to build an empire to his name.

Early Life

Gustavo was born in Uruguay. He studied at The George Washington University where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree majoring in international business. For his MBA, Gustavo attended, Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management.

Growth

Starting on Wall Street in 1991, in the middle of one of the worse recessions the US has ever seen, Gustavo took a job for almost no money at a major investment bank. He soon became noticed by the Company’s big wigs, in that he was behind some great money making initiatives, most of which required vision and the ability to be a self-starter. Progressing through the ranks was not enough for Gustavo, and he eventually left the comfort of a generous salary and bonus to pursue his dream of becoming self-employed. When asked by the press, how he gathered the courage to venture out on his own and leave the comfort of a generous salary and bonus, Gustavo was quoted as stating – “I would have never forgiven myself, had I settled for mediocrity. I knew going at it alone was going to be no picnic, but I also knew I could be a nimble, pivot, and most important, be accountable to myself and my investors, without having to worry about politics, earnings season or compromising my morals.”

With an estimated net worth north of 300 million, Gustavo has credited his tenacity – the ability to think outside the box and to let every crazy person in the room have an opinion, no matter how out of touch with reality it might sound – for much of his success.

As a famous saying goes – the only place success comes before work is the dictionary. Hard work remains an absolute prerequisite for attaining success; so is ambition, and a solid moral compass.

Gustavo is the founder of Cancer Frontiers, WhiteRock Capital, WhiteRock Capital Partners, The WhiteRock Group and as of late, Student Global d/b/a myKlovr. a New York based artificial intelligence Company providing predictive analytics to the education sector.