A Founder's Philosophy

To Founders, Associates, and Friends,

Welcome to M1. If you’ve found your way here, our paths have likely crossed for a reason. What follows is how we approach building companies, and the beliefs that guide the people we build them with, whether you’re an entrepreneur, an investor, or a friend we’re cheering on from the sidelines.

I was fortunate to start my first company, Career Now Brands, in 2010, shortly after the financial crisis, when web and mobile were reshaping the world. My co-founder, Ben Onnie, and I were ambitious, digitally native, and convinced there was an enormous gap in the way trucking companies and trade schools connected with their audiences. What began as a simple idea grew into a company that served millions of users, hundreds of enterprise customers, and 200 dedicated employees.

More than fifteen years later, a few principles remain at the forefront of everything we do, how we act, how we hire, and what we tell the world: it’s all about impact. Every day, I ask myself the same question. Am I making an impact on my teammates, our customers, or the people who use the products we’re building? When the answer is yes, we’re on the yellow brick road. When the answer is no, we’ve traveled off course.

In a classic and beloved movie scene, Alec Baldwin’s character preaches “ABC: Always Be Closing.” I prefer a different version, ABE: Always Be Evolving. The evolution of self is a critical feature of leadership. Building from zero to one demands a different version of you than leading a growth-stage company. Hiring and managing hundreds of people demands another. Operating at scale under private equity demands yet another.

Escape velocity is the goal of every startup, but when a company starts to accelerate, it will leave its founders behind if they don’t evolve with it.

That belief compounds another core principle, whether you’re a founder, a manager, or early in your career: replace yourself within the org.

Master your role. Drive the impact your function requires. And then, most importantly, develop someone capable of taking the baton from you. Handing it off is what creates the space for you to move up and take on new challenges with a blank canvas. The best athletes don’t just win a title once or twice in a short run. The ones we remember reinvent themselves across a long career, making an impact at every inflection point. That is what builds a legacy, and the same is true in building companies.

M1 is a modern family office. We build and invest across venture capital, private equity, real estate, and AI and technology startups. Two entrepreneurs passionate about people, technology, and achieving impactful outcomes.

Growth is rarely linear, but it is always achievable. We look forward to building a bold future, together.

Onward,

Craig R. Jablonski