Some challenges faced by startups and entrepreneurs are common to most any business – securing funding, creating business models and pitching investors can be difficult for anyone. However, when you are only 24 years old, many of these tasks become amplified.
When Nick Valenta graduated from SMU, he knew he wanted to be part of the financial management world, but his age and perceived lack of experience stood in the way of him getting his foot in the door. After a stint as a financial analyst and consultant for Algodon Partners and as a financial analyst intern as Goldman Sachs subsidiary Ayco, he decided instead to go ahead and create his own financial management and branding firm.
The Arion Group, based in the Turtle Creek neighborhood of Dallas, was born.
“I needed to build a track record,” said Valenta, founder and CEO at Arion. “As a young person, I think my biggest sell is that I truly care about every client I have… I’ve learned a lot through other people’s experience.”
The Arion Group has two main focuses: branding and financial management. And while the company does some of the traditional type of work others in the field do, Arion’s biggest clientele group are former athletes.
Valenta said that the idea came from a conversation he was having with a friend and potential business partner. While discussing business plans, it came up that the friend, a fairly well-off athlete, was largely in the dark when it came to keeping track of finances. This issue was something he began to notice was not limited to one sport, Valenta added. So, when Arion launched in 2016, that quickly became one of their main focuses.
“Athletes are a different story because they’re also young, and my pitch to them was we care about your long term… you’re only going to play until you’re 28 or 30, then your entire life goes away, so what do you do then,” Valenta said. “I’ve found that most people that are successful, whether you’re an athlete or a business owner, most people who’ve done well, have done really well in one thing.”
In addition to helping clients manage their assets and make smart investments, Arion also provides branding services to companies. Valenta said that side of the business has been growing quickly. The company has already worked with other organizations, such as CommonGrounds and Hennessy. But like his experience in financial management, it took a while to develop this side of the business.
Valenta said that initially Arion would work with small business owners to build experience and a portfolio. The small businesses would in turn invest small amounts with the company. He said that with branding, especially with many smaller businesses, creating a digital presence and having a cohesive brand are most important in this age of digital marketing.
“We’re a small firm…. but we can offer the structure and expertise that a massive global firm can,” Valenta said.
Valenta and his four-person full-time team’s strategy seems to be paying off, as the company looks to expand. Currently, it has about 40 branding clients and more than 100 on the financial side. Valenta said that at the moment they have received more clients asking for Arion’s services that the company can take on.
This month, Arion added an in-house digital marketing position. The company also plans on launching a multifamily office platform to its financial management side at the beginning of 2020.
“The thing we try to focus on is trying to work with the best companies in their field,” Valenta said. “Once you can prove what you do... then it’s just a matter of meeting people.”
