You Can't Fear Failure: Scott Trench on the Evolution of BiggerPockets

How does a 27 year old become the CEO of a major online brand? Not only that, how does a 27 year old take an online brand, build upon it, and create something better? Well, if your name is Scott Trench, the answer is: a lot of hard work, some tough decisions, and looking out for the customer whenever possible.

Before he was head honcho at BiggerPockets, Scott was a financial analyst in the corporate world. He wasn’t too happy, and spent all his free time finding the best (and quickest) ways to reach financial freedom so he didn’t have to go to a 9-5 for the next 40 years of his life. Without many investments or rental properties, Scott was introduced to the founder of BiggerPockets, Josh Dorkin.

Josh saw something in Scott, and hired him as the third employee of BiggerPockets. Scott was given the title “Director of Operations” which really meant taking care of the finances for the business and making sure everyone had their coffee. Scott started acquiring more properties as he worked with Josh and later became such a crucial part of the BiggerPockets family, he was promoted to president. When Josh decided to step away to be with his family, Scott became CEO.

In the 2 years he’s been CEO, he’s had to make some tough decisions such as changing the overall management structure of the company. This has helped BiggerPockets grow into a website and business that over 2,000,000 people use and love. When Scott isn’t running BiggerPockets, he’s playing rugby, gaming on his PC, or having a beer with a fellow investor!

In This Episode We Cover

• How Scott used the principles outlined in Set for Life to reach financial freedom
• Taking a chance and joining a very early stage startup 
• The importance of having very low expenses when making hard decisions
• How to work with a private equity firm when they acquire part of your business
• NPS (net promoter scores) and why they’re crucial for continual business improvement 
• Driving value for shareholders, without tarnishing your brand for customers
• Scott’s new book First Time Home Buyer
• And So Much More!

Links from the Show

• Mr Money Mustache
• BiggerPockets Business Podcast 01: How to Turn a Hobby Into a Booming Business (Then Get Your Life Back)—The BiggerPockets Story With Joshua Dorkin
• BiggerPockets Business Podcast 18: How to “Have It All” by Living with Intention with Brandon Turner
• BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast
• BiggerPockets Money Podcast
• McCarthy Capital
• BiggerPockets Publishing
• BiggerPockets Podcast 297: