Does being bold make a good leader or does a good leader have to be bold? Karl Falk '98, is leader who knows bold both ways.
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SUMMARY
But there is much more to leadership than boldness. Join Karl and Long Blue Leadership host, Naviere Walkewicz '99, for a conversation about boldness, the nuanced human spirit and the path to success as a leader. In this episode, Karl Falk, founder and CEO of Botdoc, shares his journey from the Air Force Academy to entrepreneurship. He discusses the challenges of leading peers and the lessons he learned from playing football. Karl also talks about his transition out of the Air Force and the founding of Botdoc, a tech startup that provides secure data transfer solutions. He emphasizes the importance of taking one step at a time and finding solutions to challenges. Karl encourages listeners to believe that there is always a way to overcome obstacles.
OUR PICKS FOR QUOTES
"Probably the hardest thing to do is is is lead your peers, not yell at your peers like some people think that's leadership that's needed sometimes but actually leading your peers and you know, trying to peer into their soul and get them to do something greater and, and that was a lot of fun."
"I learned that I didn't want that to happen again. In fact, I, the the army game this year, when Air Force came over to sing, we were on that we were on that side of the stadium, and I took a picture of it. And I sent it to my son I said, remember this? Because when that season, that's what that's what motivated me. That next season was I didn't want that to happen again."
"I think I learned more about leadership and who I was. And honestly, probably the hardest thing to do, especially when you're that age is, is lead your peers, not yell at your peers, like some people think that's leadership in the locker room, but that's needed sometimes, but actually leading your peers and you know, trying to peer into their soul and get them to, to do something greater and, and that was a lot of fun."
- Karl Falk, Founder '98 and CEO, Botdoc
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CHAPTERS
02:28Early Life and Upbringing
05:15Childhood and Sports
06:13 Path to the Air Force Academy
07:08 Leadership Lessons from Football
09:29 Transitioning out of the Air Force
13:47 Entrepreneurship and BotDoc
25:12 The Invention of BotDoc
28:06 Lessons in Entrepreneurship
32:55 Closing Remarks
OUR FAVORITE TAKEAWAYS
- Leading peers requires understanding and inspiring them to do something greater.
- Challenges and tough times can shape and prepare individuals for future success.
- Entrepreneurship involves taking risks, making decisions on the fly, and finding solutions to problems.
- Believe that there is always a way to overcome obstacles and achieve success.
KARL'S BIO
Karl Falk is the Founder and CEO of tech start-up Botdoc. A vision that the movement of data should be easier and more secure. He is helping disrupt the ‘Secure Digital Transport’ industry and pioneering how all data will be transported in the future.
The Botdoc software allows companies to transport data and documents in and out of systems with end-to-end encryption without anyone needing a login, pin, password or app to download. And upon delivery the encrypted container and the contents inside of it evaporate, leaving no residual footprint of data. Botdoc is redefining how companies engage data and is the future of the global consumer experience.
Karl transitioned out of the Air Force in 2004 into emerging technology consulting. Finding innovative ways to expedite low TRL technology from the DoD labs and National labs to the hands of operators and soldiers in an effort to save lives post 9/11.
Using his extensive industry experience in ‘going against the grain’, Karl is a sought-after speaker on innovation, entrepreneurship and efficiency and speaks nationally to help inspire others to spark change.
In 2012, he was named one of the “Top 5 Most Influential Young Professionals” by ColoradoBiz Magazine and was named a “Rising Star” by the Colorado Springs Business Journal in 2013.
Karl is a Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, a Football Alum, an Eagle Scout and has been honored by President Clinton in the Oval Office. He sits on the Executive Board for the Pikes Peak Boy Scout Council and is the President Select. He’s a husband and father of 3 and calls home in Monument, Colorado. In his free time, you can find him at soccer games, coaching football and track, and volunteering as an assistant scout master for Boy Scout Troop 6.
- Image and copy source: LinkedIn
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FULL TRANSCRIPT
SPEAKERS
Our guest, Mr. Karl Falk '98, Founder and CEO of Botdoc. | Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99
Karl Falk 00:12
Probably the hardest thing to do is lead your peers, not yell at your peers like some people think that's leadership. That's needed sometimes but actually leading your peers and you know, trying to peer into their soul and get them to do something greater and, and that was a lot of fun.
Naviere Walkewicz 00:58
My guest today is Mr. Karl Falk. USAFA class of ‘98, founder and CEO of the Colorado based tech startup Botdoc, husband to April and father of three one (of) whom is a current Air Force Academy cadet in the class of ‘27. Carl transitioned out of the Air Force in 2004 and into the emerging technology consulting space going on after that, in his own words, to use his extensive industry experience, going against the grain to find innovative and industry disruptive ways to move encrypted data, leaving no trail or trace. He is so successful that he has become a nationally known and sought after speaker on innovation, entrepreneurship and efficiency. He has been formally recognized for his work by presidents and peers alike. We'll talk with Carl about his life before and during his days at the Academy, challenges he faced along the way, leadership lessons he learned, and we’ll ask him whether he believes boldness like his makes great leaders, or if leaders need to be bold to be great. Welcome to long leadership.
Karl Falk 02:00
Hey, all right. Thanks for having me. This is great.
Naviere Walkewicz 02:03
I'm so excited. You know, I think some of the greatest things about these podcasts is we're really learning more about our graduates and some of the paths that they've walked. We share a path right now. We both have boys at the Academy.
Karl Falk 02:13
Yes, former preppies now. Now four-degree and on the football team. That's right.
Naviere Walkewicz 02:19
That's right. So it's interesting, though, while we were at the Academy, at the same time, we really didn't cross our paths. So, I think that's the beauty of once you graduate, the Long Blue Line really is enduring. Well, today, we're going to learn more about your journey and your path. And we'd love to start just with a little bit of who Karl is, you know, take us back in the day. Tell us about where you grew up, your family.
Karl Falk 02:39
Yeah, well, so I grew up, back then I had to say (in) a small rice farming community on the west side of Houston, Katy, but now Katy’s, you know, almost a million people. It's a large extension of Houston. So everyone knows where Katy is. But it was me and my mom. She was a, you know, single mom, teacher at the time. Actually, she drove buses at first, and then and then transitioned into teaching and, you know, I look back at those times, and I didn't know how lean it was. And I think, you know, I didn't have things when I was a kid. And you know, I owe a lot to my mom that she worked. Sometimes she had four jobs or her and I cleaned the local community center for extra money. She drove like I said, she drove buses for the school district. And she was actually the trainer. Actually, there's a really funny story. So, my mom, even my kids they looked at me when they first heard the story, and they started laughing so she was part of the they have this like National Bus Rodeo. And I'm like, “Bus Rodeo?” So they would actually, she would drive it through like an obstacle course and have to back up and no, so I know this sounds really funny. But so she was, (because) cuz she would train all the bus drivers for Katy ISD. And we would go around Texas at these national championships or these you know, regional championships and stuff but it was kind of funny. She was a bus rodeo and going driving a bus or an obstacle course she had like, get out and run around the bus and like hit the tires with a hammer. It was it was pretty funny.
Naviere Walkewicz 04:21
So wow, what an amazing woman. I mean, it sounds like you got some leadership lessons right from the get-go at home.
Karl Falk 04:27
Yeah, you know, I learned what it was like in tough times. And my mom's gonna’ kill me for telling the stories but you know, even after soccer games or soccer, you know, we would all go to Mr. Gatty’s pizza, I think was, Mr., or Godfather’s Pizza, I think it was Godfather’s Pizza. And my mom would say, hey, just get the water. And I would sit and watch the other kids play the games. And I was enthralled. You know, but, you know, looking back it kind of makes me sad. But I didn't really care back then, and, you know, so it doesn't really matter where you start.
Naviere Walkewicz 05:05
I mean, you probably have some of those thoughts even now as a parent. And we'll get into some of that, you know, when you think about how you pave ways for your families, from your own upbringing, so what were you like as a kid? I mean, you obviously were very loved and you're involved in a lot of things. Were you in mostly sports?
Karl Falk 05:23
Yeah, it was funny. I wasn't in sports it really until junior high. And well, you know, soccer growing up, of course, I was the fat kid that you know, was picking flowers, right? So, I mean, I know my wife's gonna shake her head because she knows the story. And, but it wasn't really until junior high. And I remember I didn't play football. First time I played football was eighth grade. And a couple of the guys I knew said he should come out for football. I'm like, “yeah, I don't know.” And they're like, “yeah, come out for football.” So, I went for football, and then sure enough, I was good at it. So, and then the football coaches were like, “Hey, you should throw shotput and discus and track.” and then, you know, ended up doing really well in high school and shotput discus. So, you kind of never know. That's where I say, you never know where your paths going. And why not at least try it? Right? Because you never know. I've told that to our kids. Try every sport. You just never know what's gonna’ stick. And if you don't like something, then okay, great. At least you know, right? Yeah. But you know, I'm an Eagle Scout. So, I was in scouts during that timeframe. So, it was sports and scouts and causing havoc in Katy, Texas. And in the late 80s, cow tipping and doing other stuff like that.
Naviere Walkewicz 06:38
What are some of the things you learned about yourself? Kind of in those formative years? Even maybe on the verge of leadership? Did you know you were gonna’ go to the Air Force Academy? How did that kind of happen?
Karl Falk 06:49
I didn't know I was gonna’ go the Academy. I knew, all I knew is I got in when I got into high school and football, I was good at it. And you know, being in Texas, there's more spotlight on football, and I had some very good coaches, my head football coach in high school coach, Bubba Fife. Everyone in Katy knows Bubba Fife. And even to this day, he's still involved in the in the school district. But he was a big advocate for me with coaches. There's some stuff I didn't find out until later in life where, you know, back then it wasn't common for the school to provide shoes. And you know, some guys had their own pads and stuff like that. And I remember my mom years later telling me that actually coach five came to her with money and said, “get some shoes.” Sorry, that, that got to me a little bit more than I thought it was gonna’ be. But you know, so I guess what I can say is, there's been a lot of people, I'm where I am today, because of a lot of people throughout my entire life, and I have a lot to be grateful for. But I was very fortunate to have those coaches in my life because there wasn't actually a time this is actually a crazy story. There was a time where, so I wasn't, I was the big fat tuba player, too. So, I always kind of, I kind of did everything because I enjoyed it. But there was a point where I kind of had to make a decision, because I was actually the guy that was playing football, and then you know, and then marching band and football. And that's really tough to do. And I had made up in my mind that I was going to quit football. And because I didn't have you know, I didn't have a dad around. And, you know, my mom was really into sports. You know, like, I am and my kids are now. And I made up my mind. So, I went to talk to one of the coaches, Coach Schubert, and I told him, I said, I'm gonna’ quit football. I, you know, I'm going to be in the band. And, and he looks at me, he goes, “No!” And he said, “We'll do we'll do anything.” He's like, “We'll work out the schedule, or whatever we want to keep playing.” And I actually had written a letter, I think it was part of one of my classes at the Academy about that. And I later on, gave that to him, but told him that that day was a fundamental shift in my life, because I don't believe I would have been here. I mean, obviously, I came to the Academy for what the Academy is, but it was it was sports that introduced me to the Academy. That got me to apply and got me here. So, you know, I'm sure it would have been okay if my life worked out a different way, but I definitely would not be. I don't believe I'd be at the Academy unless, that day he just looked at me and said, “No!”
Naviere Walkewicz 09:44
There you go. Sometimes the “no” was a different door that opens. Yeah, that's great. So, okay, so you were recruited for football. And so, you came in by way of the prep school?
Karl Falk 09:58
I did. I was a prep. The c-squad. But yeah, lots of fond memories of the prep school. It's for everyone is has been through there knows that it's a special place. And then actually seeing our boys there last year brought back a lot of memories. And you know what's crazy is there's Chef Jeff at the P, is still there, still serving up food. Still asking if you want fries with that. So yeah. But now so that was really a cool experience last year being able to let a lot of memories, a lot of flashbacks.
Naviere Walkewicz 10:35
Just great stories of how you got to the Academy, just the experiences, I'm sure. Not just the leadership from your coaches and really helping to guide you. But let's talk about some of your experiences with some of the cadet candidates with the preppies and what that translated, you know how that kind of shaped you in that transition?
Karl Falk 10:52
Even the cadets that weren't at the prep school know that there's, there's a special bond with everybody at the P. And, you know, I think coming into your freshman, your four-degree year at the Academy, you already know two hundred people. And that's a great feeling. I mean, that first day, I-day is much different if you're a preppy than not so. But yeah, I think obviously, the prep school really helped me transition into the Academy and, you know, I think set me up in a better place my freshman year.
Naviere Walkewicz 11:28
In your Cadet years, you played football? What were you studying?
Karl Falk 11:32
So, I was management major. It was really a struggle for me that I didn't know what I wanted to do. And I think that was, you know, I guess that's good and bad. And let people know, hey, I want to be this doctor, I want to go into physical therapy, or I want to, you know, be you know, I love math. And I want to go off and do those things where I want to go off into aerospace engineering. I had no clue I really didn't. For me, it was, you know, I wanted something that was broad enough. Statistics was actually a class looking back, I enjoyed it. One of my few A's at the Academy. But it was because we had this Navy officer who came in and taught it, and it was all around investments. Because he had a lot of investments. And so, we structured around that. So, I think it was the applicability of it. In my mind that was enjoyable.
Naviere Walkewicz 12:20
Like the first seed and kind of what maybe we're thinking about?
Karl Falk 12:24
Yeah, I think it was, you know, something around that. And I think part of was because growing up, I didn't have much. And I think I wanted to have a different life than that. And especially with you know, eventually someday having a family and kids. So maybe that's why it was of interest. But the other class to that, again, one of my few A's was, was the negotiation class. And it was it was only for that one semester, but they brought an individual from Harvard, to teach the class. And he didn't, I think he did some kind of negotiations for the government, like with other countries and stuff. And he built this whole class at Harvard. And he came in and taught it and yeah, it was, it was a lot of fun.
Naviere Walkewicz 13:11
Well, that makes sense into all the success you've had started with a statistics class and then how to negotiate as a boss. Let's go back to football a little bit. I think, you know, we're really interested to understand what it's like on the field, some of the highs and lows and some leadership lessons you took away from that.
Karl Falk 13:28
Yeah. Well, I'll tell you what, one of the great situations I had was obviously having Fisher DeBerry as the coach, right. Very dynamic person. Some of the sayings that came out of his mouth. He had us shaking our head sometimes but obviously an incredible man and I think that inspired a lot of us. But you know, if I think back probably my most memorable moment was, it was November of ‘96. It was my junior year and we went to South Bend. And Notre Dame was eighth in the nation was Lou Holtz is to be last season. And we beat them in overtime. And yeah, what a what a special feeling. And I remember we were out celebrating on the field. I think it was Dustin Tyner, it was I think that's who was one of the receivers jumped up on me. And we were celebrating and it got snagged as AP Photo of the Week, one of the photographers who took it so it was in Sports Illustrated that week. It was in every major newspaper. So that was I said that was my 15 minutes of fame.
Naviere Walkewicz 14:44
But questionable, I think you got a lot more.
Karl Falk 14:46
We'll see. Different but you know, that was a special season. But there were some big highs and big lows. And I think I learned a lot from this season personally, only because we did not win the Commander in Chiefs trophy that year. I think we lost to both Army and Navy, which didn't happen in the 90s. And we then we beat Notre Dame who's in the top 10. Right. So, there's this huge roller coaster, it's, we have the talent. And it was our class (of) ‘98, we sat down. And in a lot of us just said, “We don't want it to be this way. Because we have the talent, we don't want, we want to go out on a bang,” And then our senior season we went 10 and 3, had a less than optimal performance against Oregon in the Las Vegas bowl, but, you know, a 10 and 3 season. And I mean, obviously win the Commander in Chief’s trophy that year, and got to do the Forrest Gump through the Oval Office with Clinton, so that was fun. But you know, I'll be honest with you, I learned a lot. I would say I learned more about leadership and who I was. And honestly, probably the hardest thing to do, especially when you're that age is, is lead your peers, not yell at your peers, like some people think that's leadership in the locker room, but that's needed sometimes, but actually leading your peers and you know, trying to peer into their soul and get them to, to do something greater and, and that was a lot of fun. I mean, I still have great relationships with those guys in and absolutely love that season. A lot of memories. And, and I think it came down to us deciding as a team that this is, we wanted something different.
Naviere Walkewicz 16:34
What did you learn about yourself in that moment, you know, when you had such a strong, you know, performance of a season and then to lose against Army and Navy.
Karl Falk 16:44
You know, I learned that I didn't want that to happen again. In fact, I, the Army game this year, when Air Force came over to sing, we were on that we were on that side of the stadium, and I took a picture of it. And I sent it to my son I said, remember this? Because when that season, that's what that's what motivated me. That next season was I didn't want that to happen again. And it meant something. And I think it meant something to me too, because I knew, and Coach DeBerry would talk about this all the time, there were guys out in the Air Force deployed, who would watch that game, who were in the Air Force, who were betting, you know, with their navy in an army brethren, but that game meant something to those guys. And for me, in the guys on that team, that's what was important. And that's something you don't get at other schools. Right. And I think that was, that helps me understand from the from the angle of leadership before kind of going on that theme was, how do you instill that feeling in somebody, because then they'll run through a brick wall for you. And that's much different than the, you know, again, sometimes you have to be the yeller and the external motivator, but if you can get inside of somebody and make them feel something, and that's when magical stuff can happen. And I feel like that's what happened. My senior year, and I think that bled over into the next class that next season, your year where they won the ACC Championship, and, and it did really great.
Naviere Walkewicz 18:44
That is a great story. And I'm really thankful you shared that because I think it tells us a little bit more about you know, who you are, especially going into the service after graduation. You separate in 2004. Let's talk about your time in the service.
Karl Falk 18:58
Yeah. So, it's weird. There's some consistent themes with me in the military. And a part of me wishes I had stayed in longer. I just did six years. And part of it was I at the time, we were stationed back at my last station, we were stationed back here in Colorado at Schriever. And I could probably could have worked another maybe a PC over to Peterson for a year but then we knew we're gonna’ have to move and my wife's a native of Colorado. So, at the time, she was pregnant with Alec, and she looked at me and she goes, I don't know about you, but I'm staying. Like, okay, I guess I'm getting out of the military. But, you know, it's part of me. Wish I would have stayed in but, you know, there was kind of this really cool theme with me. My first assignment I stayed on and coached football at the prep school. And my I mean, man, that was so much fun. We had a really good time. Back then, you know, they had, I think there was eight or nine of us lieutenants that were down there. So, you can imagine I was that was that was fun time but went out to Wright Patterson. And so, I was a finance officer and was doing acquisition out of Wright Patt and at the time they had this this financial competition called top dollar. And so, I of course I tell my kids I said, “Yeah, you know, it was like Tom Cruise you know, because it was Top Dollar Top Gun.” They always roll their eyes like Dad, you're stupid. But Top Dollar started because of Desert Storm, way back when they realized that hey, when we go to a new location where there's nothing we really need CE financing contracting there first, because we have to pay for stuff get stuff rolling in, money, infrastructure before you start bringing a lot of troops over. So, they realize they're very bad at that. So, the Air Force started Top Dollar to kind of create this deployed situation to train our financial staff and contracting staff on how to how to do it better. So low and behold, I get to Wright Patt, and I was on they didn't know where to put me yet. So, I was on the staff, and they didn't have a dispersing officer for the team. So as five financial people into contracting and they said, “Well, hey, there's this kid who was a football player. So, you know, maybe he can lead this crew because you had to do obstacle courses.” I mean, it was crazy. It was like over the top some of the stuff.the You had to have camp suits on. It was it was physical. It was, we were in a tent. We had to cash, give people cash out. I had to balance out every night, I had a safe that we had to open. No, it was like it was legit. And then we had to put on like, the camp suits. And I still was like balancing out for the day. And I'm like it, no, it was it was over the top. So anyway, I get thrown in this competition. And it was I felt like I was in you know, football season because we know we would meet at like 5:00 a.m. up at the gym. And we'd go running and we’d do all this stuff. And we were together different parts of the week when we can get off from our job and everything. And so, we ended up going up to Alpena, Michigan, and winning the FMC Air Force Materiel Command competition, and then we go to the Air Force competition. And we ended up winning. So, we're the best team in the Air Force for deployment. And this is just before 911.
Naviere Walkewicz 22:44
And this is also under your leadership.
Karl Falk 22:46
I was the team lead for it. And so, it was it was pretty cool. And so, I technically wasn't Tom Cruise, I would have been Val Kilmer. Right because I won. So anyway, but they haven't called me back. Right. Like, like the new movie. So, but that was the story, especially the new Maverick came out. I'm like, “Hey, I was Top Dollar.” And course my kids are rolling their eyes, you know. But it's a cool story. Yeah, so a lot, a lot of fun, fun memories there. And then my next spot was out to Schriever. So, a space wing on the budget side. And then we set up a financial services office out there. So, I was technically the first FSBO at Schriever. But what's funny, there's, there's this weird theme of both at Wright Patterson. And also, when I was at Schriever, I kind of realized that there were certain processes that could be automated a little bit. So, at Wright Patterson didn't know anything about really building databases, but structured a database for one of the teams I was on to kind of track things we were doing. And then when I went to Schriever, I worked with one of our tech guys that we had in the office and we built this software to track the close out to make it a lot easier to close out the books. And so, looking back, that's funny because that's what I've ultimately done with our business. So, I think for whatever reason that that resonates with me to try and make things a little bit easier, reduce friction in processes and just make a lot of things easier.
Naviere Walkewicz 24:32
I was just gonna’ ask how that started. So, it sounds like that kind of was the impetus of it. So, can you tell us more about bot doc?
Karl Falk 24:38
So, in essence, what we're doing is we inadvertently invented something that was pretty unique. We were building something totally different. We had an impossible requirements set to do security with a very challenged customer who wouldn't log in put in pins passwords, wouldn't download apps worked out of free WiFi at Panera or McDonald's on their phone and do security and encryption that environment, it's impossible. Well, we figured out a way to do it. And at the time, it was just part of the tech stack that we were providing to our clients. And they came back and said, “Hey, you know that thing you did it works? Can you make it a separate product?” Because we always have one-off requests or whatever. And I remember sitting back in my chair and going, that's it. So, we did it. We gave it to the clients that we had at the time. And they said, “Hey,” and so they came back and said, Hey, can we get more accounts?” And they said, “Oh, by the way, what do you call it?” And we're like, “I don't know.” We didn't have any more. Yeah, the thing that works. So it was, it was kind of a, it was a really cool moment. Because we ended up pivoting the entire company just to focus on that little piece of technology. So, this was late 16, going into 17. So, we didn't really have much, I didn't even have a way to charge for it at the time. And we actually had customers of ours using it with other companies. And they were coming to them saying, “Hey, what is that?” And they said, “We don't know. Call these people.” So we were getting calls from other from other companies saying, Hey, can we get it? And then I'm like, alright, what did we do? Right, we just we did something really cool. Because it wasn't just specific to the industry we were working in originally, it was kind of all over the place. And it was really the need for moving things across the Internet very easily kind of like shipping. That's why some people are, some of our clients call us the secure FedEx of data, because we're in the business of just picking things up and dropping them off. And when we drop them off, we get rid of it. So, we're not a long-term storage, but we keep all the tracking information. So, we know where things are, how long when they were picked up when they dropped off. And we become this, this isolated environment outside of a secure platform that can transport things in and out of it without external parties needing access to the system. So it's a unique concept. And it's turned the eyes of many major Fortune 500 companies that use our tech now and we're growing in different industries.
Naviere Walkewicz 27:18
The fact that it was discovered because of a challenge and an impossible requirement. And yet you prove that it wasn't impossible. And so can we spend a little time I think in that space? At that time, you were doing some consulting, or were you already kind of in this entrepreneurial space.
Karl Falk 27:35
So, I was, I call it entrepreneur light. So, when I got out of the military I went to work for Booz-Allen. And, you know, they're their premise is you are not entrepreneur, but you know this with the sort of a large company. And I kind of got the itch there. But I realized that I needed to be doing it for me. Or I was gonna’ end up dead divorced or both. So I transitioned out, I was pulling double duty for a little bit and but transition out, I actually got into real estate at the time, because I knew I wanted to do something different. And that was during the crash. And it was good timing for us because we were getting into real estate at the time. And without going into a lot of detail. We basically took that, you t know, what April and I were able to, to amass during that time period and invest into going into software.
Naviere Walkewicz 28:32
Was that something that you felt really confident in? Was it a bit scary? I think some of our listeners, you know, really have sometimes they're on this precipice of do I take the leap? Or do I not? What's in me, what does that look like? And so maybe if you could share some of your lessons of, you know, what was that pathway?
Karl Falk 28:48
Wow. The podcast is free to listen to, right? Yeah. All right. So, here's the deal. So, you're getting free advice. So, it's worth what you paid for it. So, I'll at least at least, at least caveat that. But I'll say this, for some people go out and buy a franchise, that is entrepreneurship, right? Because you're taking your money, whether it's a McDonald's, a Christian Brothers automotive, like Mike Tyler, who's, uh, who's the ‘99 guy in this, right? And in that's phenomenal, right? Because they still have to run a team, they have to make some really hard decisions, make sure that the numbers work and whatsoever and some of them grow into multiple sites. So that's a level of entrepreneurship. You know, sometimes just investing your money in a startup is somewhat of an odd, you know, because you're taking that risk. But I think there's a very hard type of entrepreneurship as well, and all of its hard, is having an idea that's, you know, somebody will sit on the back of a paper, you know, a napkin and saying, I'm going to do this because. That's great. And that's awesome. And sometimes you just have to be able to take one step, one step, one step, you kind of know what the future looks like. But if you try and plan it all out, it's not going to work like that. And I think that's where some people get in trouble. Because they'll say, “Hey, I'm going to do this,” and they'll plan it all out. And they'll say, “That's, that's the steps I have to take.” The problem is, is it never works out that way. So, you have to be able to make decisions on the fly. So, I'll give an Academy analogy here. I remember it was the assault course, when I was a freshman. And it was going through the dank tunnel with the helmet. And getting to the end with that little hole. And I remember I was trying, I'm big guy, right? So, I was trying to squeeze in through there. And I just, I got that weird moment where I go freaking out a little bit. And I went back, and I just threw my helmet off out of the out of the hole. And of course, then, you know, like, alright, game on right, extra attention. You never lose your helmet, you know, blah, blah, blah. And I remember this, they covered the hole up. So, there was no like, literally covered the hole up with dirt. And I remember that freaked me out. But I'm like, I'm not going back. Right? Like, I'm not going to be that one. And it did, like, I was just like, alright, just take, right one push at a time, dig out the hole first. And I just had to focus on that one task, because when I started to think about all of it, it was like freaking me out. So, I guess entrepreneurs kind of like that, like you can have a plan. But sometimes you just gotta’ make that decision in front of you. And I think it's the fear aspect to the one piece of advice I got from an individual. He said, “When you feel fear, take a step. It's easy to take a step. And that's all you gotta’ do.” And I think throughout the years, it's always been taking that step, taking the step. Sometimes you just gotta’ say, I can't think about what the next couple years look like, I gotta’ make a decision right now. And let's just take one step and figure it out.
Naviere Walkewicz 32:04
We’ve learned a lot kind of through your journey. You certainly never been one to shy away from, you know, a little bit of grit. I think that's something you've brought to the table and everything that we've heard so far, Karl. Well, I feel like the theme today has really been about, you know, a lot of your successes have always been around, you know, being part of something bigger than yourself. When the listeners are on and they're getting to know, Karl, you know, what do you want to leave them with?
Karl Falk 32:31
In addition to what they've heard to Air Force football? No, here's what I'll leave everybody with is there's always a way. There's always a way, there's always a way to figure out how to get out of the box. I actually, my team knows this, I actually pride myself at figuring something out. Like, because my perspective is there's always a way, there's always a way and you're gonna’ figure it out kind of like there's always a way out of that tunnel. And the assault course right? For me, even in the company, when I didn't know how to get out of a situation or we felt like we made some mistakes and whatever. I was just like, we'll figure it out. There's always a way we'll figure it out.
Naviere Walkewicz 33:13
If people want to learn more about Botdoc or get a hold of you, how can they do that?
Karl Falk 33:18
So, you know, so bought doc, which is you can Google bought doc, or Google me, Karl Falk. There's anybody listening that thinks they want to get into something or they're doing something and they think they're doing it bad. I've done it bad. Right. So those are the conversations I like to have. So definitely reach out. So, I would say just submit something through our website and just reference the academy and, my team will know that that's important to me. So, we'll make the connection.
Naviere Walkewicz 33:50
Thank you for being here today.
Karl Falk 33:52
Thanks for having me.
KEYWORDS
Academy, leadership, class, football, Air Force, coaches, learned, prep school, remember, season, year, work, transition, funny, long, Karl, entrepreneurship, team, kids, won
The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation
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