Robert Davis, Co-founder, RD Heritage, A DotCom Magazine Exclusive Interview
Robert Davis is one of the founders of RD Heritage, a family office and investment firm located in Las Vegas, Nevada. RD Heritage takes opportunities to invest in private companies and enhance their success in the market by providing them with expert business guidance as well as funding.
Robert Davis of RD Heritage has a background in medicine. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and went on to study medicine at the University of Miami. He spent ten years as a physician both in the emergency room and in ambulatory care.
He made a career shift 25 years ago, moving into the world of business investment. His firm has invested in medical technology, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, and oil and gas companies, fostering innovation and strengthening companies that are making strides in their fields.
Robert Davis of RD Heritage carries an expanding portfolio of partnerships and investments. The company stays abreast of the constant shifts in the global economy, putting its money where it will be the most useful. The firm has an international focus, working with companies in the Middle East, Indonesia, and other countries.
RD Heritage stands out as a family office firm because the principals make an effort to understand the inner workings of the businesses they support. Robert Davis in particular has a strong interest in how businesses can take advantage of their funding to experience growth.
Let’s start by telling us about your business.
RD Heritage is a family office firm that is focused on fostering innovation. We work with global companies in the fields of medical technology, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, artificial intelligence, and agriculture. We are always looking for new sectors in which to expand, depending on global business movements.
Please tell us how you make sure your customers will become raving fans of your company?
Our company doesn’t have what I would call customers, but the companies in which we invest can trust us to provide knowledgeable guidance and reliable funding. Overall, my position on client services comes from my medical background. I have always believed in getting to know a patient or a company thoroughly. This means that I can always pinpoint where the company needs help in order to succeed.
Please tell us the one thing that separates your business from the competition?
Many family offices don’t invest in international companies because they are afraid of entering new markets. I think they are leaving a lot of good opportunities on the table.
We are also different from other family office firms because we take an intense interest in how each company operates from the inside out. I think that a lot of firms skip over getting to know their companies so well, and that is why their investments aren’t successful.
And to finish this section, please tell us what is the one major key to your company’s success?
Insight is the key to our success. We have intelligent analysts working for us, and they are often able to find the best way to encourage a company to grow.
I also believe that our expertise in mergers and acquisitions is another key to our success. We create significant value when we help companies merge or acquire others. This means that we can invest our profits into other companies and continue to succeed as a family office firm.
For our readers just starting to build a company, what advice can you give entrepreneurs just starting out with a new venture?
When I started RD Heritage, I was new to the business world and I made some mistakes when I first got started. I had come through the medical profession where you are largely independent, but you still have superiors to answer to. It took a mental adjustment to learn to be my own boss. My partners and I had to take off running, and it wasn’t perfect at first.
I would advise that you surround yourself with an excellent team. If you can’t trust your team, you’ll never get anywhere in your business. You don’t want someone to drag you down because they aren’t as dedicated to your company’s success as you are.
For entrepreneurs seeking to build a business as successful as yours, what one big piece of advice can you give them when times get a little challenging?
When things are hard, take a step back and think about what is going on. You need to carefully consider your options and how you can begin to fix your problem. Don’t be afraid to ask a friend or mentor for advice.
I will recommend finding a business mentor to help you think through your problems if they occur. A mentor can encourage you when things aren’t going well.
Mentors can help create strategies for success. They have seen it all, and they can provide an important outside perspective on any difficulties you may be having.
In today’s fast-changing business environment, how do you stay abreast of things?
It’s difficult to stay abreast of the global business community. I like to read English-language newspapers and websites from around the world. This can give me a sense of what is going on in the parts of the world where we do business.
What is your “Why”? In one sentence, why do you get up in the morning?
My central “why” is building my family’s future and investing in opportunities that will make this a better world. I am nearing retirement age, but I have no desire to stop working. I love the challenges that each new day brings, and I love getting up and going to work in the morning.
I think that it’s incredibly important to be self-motivated in this business. When you enjoy getting up and going to the office each day, it is much easier to succeed.
My personal motto is “Do good, have fun, make money.” It seems overly simple, but these three principals have informed what it means to be a business leader.
What is the most important thing one has to do to be a great leader?
To be a great leader, you need to surround yourself with an excellent people. You need to be able to inspire others with your example. You need to have the persistence that it takes to get through troubled times.
In addition, great leaders need to know how to do everything that they ask of their employees. This gives them an appreciation of how much hard work their employees put into the business. Many executives feel that if they just wave their hands, the work will be done, but I prefer to understand the workplace in detail.
Throughout my career both as a medical doctor and as an investor, I have looked up to great role models. I think that this is valuable for younger executives as well as people who are more advanced in their career.
How important are your customers to your business?
Again, we don’t really have what you would call “customers,” but we make sure that our client companies are taken care of. When they come to us for funding, it is often because they want to make a major expansion or because they want to acquire another company. We can make that happen for them. It is important to me that my client/partners are satisfied and that they go on to achieve great things, not only because that will help me share in their profits but also because it is personally fulfilling.
Describe a positive way that technology can make the world a better place.
Technology helps us stay organized. I love using online calendar apps to keep myself and my business running. I have so many appointments that it would be impossible to keep them all in a written document like I did when I was a medical doctor. Of course, technology has come an incredibly long way since then.
Tell us how something positive to motivate our readers.
I would tell your readers that even if you make mistakes in your business, you can recover if you try. Don’t give up hope just because you have reached a difficult point in your business journey.
My favorite business quote is “Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” Richard Branson said that, and I think he is an inspirational business leader.
Tell us how you start your day to get ready.
My days are long. Sometimes they start as early as 4 AM when I need to have business meetings with clients in Asia or Europe. I also frequently work late at night. It can be difficult to find time to relax and refresh myself. When I wake up in the morning, if I don’t have an early meeting, I like to have a cup of coffee and catch up on the market news from Asia and Europe. Many important things happen while our hemisphere is sleeping. I also like to read the Wall Street Journal and get an idea of where the business world is headed on any given day.
How do you handle rejection and setback?
Rejections and setbacks are hard for everyone. Sometimes our investments don’t pay off and we lose money. This is always upsetting and leaves me wondering what I did wrong. Usually, it is a failure in research that causes us to run into trouble. I believe that every business setback has lessons to teach us and that we should not give up just because we are having a difficult time.
What your hiring philosophy?
I always hire people/or outside consultants with excellent references. I am not particularly interested in training people to work in my field, I want them to know what they are doing before they start work for us. I always contact all of the references and speak to them in detail about how the employee performed and what their strengths and weaknesses were.
How do you keep your sanity in a competitive business environment?
I try to make sure that I have some time to read every day. I read for business and for pleasure. One of my favorite business authors is Ray Dalio. I recommend his book Life and Work Principles to everyone I know.
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