Entrepreneurs of the Year 2014

Supreme Lending

SCOTT EVERETT
PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER

Scott Everett wants to change people’s lives. Through his national mortgage banking company, Supreme Lending, he helps customers secure financing to buy homes, which will have a direct impact on their family’s lives. For his employees, Everett offers $20,000 worth of cash prizes at an egg hunt, flies in 600 people for a golf tournament, buys his employee of the year a house to reduce her commute, and sends a private jet so a prospective employee can interview for a job and not miss celebrating his wedding anniversary. “You do these crazy, fun things and it changes people’s lives,” he says.“I like people to be able to see that life can be great and work can be great, and your employer can be great and know your name and, no matter how big you get, it’s still a family-type company.” Everett bootstrapped Supreme Lending in 1999, growing the company to 95 branch offices and more than 1,100 employees nationwide. He survived the mortgage crisis of 2007-08 by not bowing to industry “norms” for bad loans and maintaining “the highest standard and quality.” The self-described techie says Supreme Lending is a technology company that offers mortgages, while others are mortgage companies with some degree of technology. With 40 percent compounded growth over the last five years, the company expects to fund $4.5 billion in loans this year and service $3.5 billion.  —K.N.

TopGolf International

ERIK ANDERSON
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

As the first U.S.-based investor in TopGolf International in 2004, Erik Anderson saw the high-tech golf venue’s potential to become a “revolutionary brand in entertainment.” But by 2009, it was clear the underperforming concept wasn’t going to succeed without a compelling vision and new leadership. It had nearly run out of cash on two occasions, and a widely anticipated U.S. expansion was put on hold. A year later, Anderson stepped in as chief executive and executive chairman and developed a new business model to merge the worlds of golf and entertainment. He moved the company’s headquarters to Dallas from Chicago, promoted experienced executives to key roles, filled in the management team, and refined the company’s culture. Anderson also developed a group event sales plan aimed at doubling the existing group sales revenue at facilities within two years, started a new training program, and built out the technology. “We had a lot of indications that there were good things there. We just needed to pull ourselves together and go for it,” he says.“We did pull a lot of sleds together … I was excited by that. We all were.” The hard work paid off. Revenue doubled from 2012 to 2013, and Anderson projects it will grow 60 percent this year and double again next year. TopGolf now has 10 locations, plus three that were scheduled to open by June and an additional 14 sites in the development pipeline. Anderson says the company plans to hire 3,000 to 4,000 employees in the next 10 months. —K.N.

KENNETH A. HERSH
CEO

Kenneth A. Hersh says he believes the United States is in the midst of a revolution in the energy industry that the country hasn’t experienced since the end of World War II. Resource scarcity and dependence on foreign sources are giving way to North American energy independence and resource abundance, he says. “I believe our energy endowment will lead our next industrial manufacturing revolution,” Hersh says, “and it’s being led by our independent oil and gas producers.” Since its inception in 1988, NGP Energy Capital Management, which makes investments in the natural resources industry, has located, funded, and supported many of these independent operators. Successful entrepreneurs, Hersh says, don’t get discouraged: “You can think of 100 reasons not to do anything. They know that, if out of five things they do, four go well, that is a success.” NGP has managed more than $13.5 billion in cumulative committed capital since it was founded in 1988. Its first fund was $100 million. The company has more than $40 billion in total deal value and has completed more than 260 transactions and 98 fully realized investments with its portfolio companies. Hersh says he tends not to focus on growth, but on investing properly. “If you produce a good product, your customer will buy it,” he says. —G.V.

U.S. Concrete Inc.

WILLIAM J. SANDBOOK
PRESIDENT AND CEO

William Sandbrook joined U.S. Concrete Inc. (NASDAQ: USCR)  in 2011, just after the company exited from bankruptcy. At the time the company’s headquarters was in Houston and it had markets in New York City, Washington, D.C., West Texas, the San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley, and Dallas-Fort Worth, where it operated as Ready Mix. Sandbrook refocused U.S. Concrete on its core business, concrete and aggregates, and concentrated on growth within the company’s existing geographic regions. He also reconfigured its capital structure. “I needed to change the culture,” Sandbrook admits. “The company had no work in Houston, so the headquarters was moved to Dallas. We’re actually in Euless, and this city has been very good to us.” Revenue is up 40 percent since 2011, Sandbrook says, and profits are up 322 percent. The stock price has rebounded from a low point of $2.37 in December 2012 to $25.54 in late May. Sandbrook, a former U.S. Army Ranger, has been recognized for his search and rescue efforts after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, where he led the first civilian heavy equipment responders into New York City to begin clearing debris. —G.V.

BRIAN REINSBOROUGH
FOUNDER, PRESIDENT, AND CEO

Creating a business plan for a pure play, deep-water oil exploration company in the Gulf of Mexico in 2012 probably seemed like a fool’s errand to many industry insiders. The United States had put a moratorium on drilling in the Gulf after the disastrous 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill—also known as the BP oil disaster or the Macondo blowout. There were no signs that the government would loosen the restrictions, so Brian Reinsborough’s business plan for a company focused on drilling in the Gulf was based on a future that did not yet exist for the oil industry. “I knew that it had to be a business plan that was unique,” Reinsborough says. “It was a challenge getting investors, but those who got on board have been rewarded handsomely.” Venari Resources LLC opened in May 2012 with a $1.125 billion line of equity. Today it’s a multibillion-dollar company. As a non-operator, Venari capitalizes on an aggressive farm-in strategy. Its first deal was with Anadarko Petroleum, farming into a prospect that the company was set to drill. Next, Venari drilled two wildcat wells that both hit—one of them in a big way. The Coronado is considered to be potentially one of the largest oil fields ever discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. Going forward, the team at Venari will continue to grow the company. They may or may not take it public. One thing’s for sure, though: In the world of oil exploration, “the Gulf of Mexico is the Land of the Giants,” Reinsborough says, “and we’re right in the middle of it.” —G.V.