Interviewing the Interviewer: Karl Gomf Reveals His Opus

By MissBiz aka Jackie Howatt
Published and Copyright November 8, 2006
Saint Mary's University, The Journal


By tracking the personal experiences of other entrepreneurs, Karl Gompf, from Winnipeg, Manitoba, may not realize it - but he has set out on an entrepreneurial adventure of his own. Currently in the research phase of his developing book, Mr. Gompf has traveled all across Canada, stopping off in every province, excluding the North West Territories – which may be next, along the way. The purpose of his journey is to document the familial impacts on budding entrepreneurs and the emotional and situational affects family may or may not ingrain or impose on a young self-starter. In doing this, he has conducted over fifty interviews with entrepreneurs (and in some cases their family members) in the hope that his work will provide a foundation for supportive communication between entrepreneurs and their families.

The interview with Karl Gompf was interesting on a few different levels. First, he is a great example of bootstrapping a venture for the sake of fulfilling a passion (very entrepreneurial in and of itself). Second, he is usually the one interviewing – it was interesting turning the tables and interviewing an interviewer. Third, writing his book seems like a very organic turn in his career. His book harmonizes his educational background with his personal life experiences. His background consists of instructing various classes such as Family Dynamics at the post-secondary level, working with ‘troubled children’, and being a father of two entrepreneurial sons.

In order to do anything, whether it is starting a business or writing a book about business, there must be an underlying motive for doing it in the first place. Mr. Gompf states, “[The book] came about from my two sons. They started a customer feedback and market research company together called TellUsAboutUs. As I was watching their company grow, they were talking about how some young entrepreneurs would come up with ideas for a company and their parents would say that their ideas were crazy. The book came about through these conversations.”

This interview allowed him to expound on some of the emerging themes that we may see in the book. He recounts a few interviews where the parents had an obvious negative impact on their child’s psyche. “I interviewed three young women in Vancouver who started their own company, which provides garnishes for bars such as cherries, limes, salt, etc. They said that their parents would say things to them that were more ‘challenging’ – not necessarily putdown comments, but more like ‘that won’t work’. Starting a company, you just don’t want to hear that, even if it’s true.”

This theme is carried over in another notable interview he had. He explains, “I interviewed one woman who is now in her forties and owns a successful business. As I interviewed her she was basically in tears because there were obviously unresolved familial issues there related to her company start-up.” He then reflects, “I’m finding though, that the true entrepreneur just forges ahead anyway. If they are driven to do it, they won’t let anything stop them. But some people were in tears or on the verge of tears during the interview because they were remembering hurtful things that were said”.

During interviews, some topics are generally more restricted to discuss than others, as some interviewees may find them offensive, such as religion, childhood upbringing, sexual orientation, and so on. Mr. Gompf touches on his experience with this. “There are some things I would like to go into [in the interviews] but [are] difficult to touch on, like what their family background was like. It’s not really my business but these are things that can have a huge impact on an entrepreneur.” He explains that the careers that the entrepreneurs’ parents had could explain their positive or negative reactions to the idea of entrepreneurship. If a parent had a bad experience in business, they might have more negative things to say because of this, and their negativity could really affect the child because they understand that ‘if dad failed, then I might fail too’. But on the other hand, having a parent with entrepreneurial experience can be a huge asset to the young entrepreneur. It’s how the family entrepreneurial dynamic plays itself out that’s most important.”

Karl Gompf’s project is fascinating in itself, but the motivating part of his story is not necessarily in the writing of his book, but the expedition he has undergone to make it happen. Discussing the financial decisions of taking on this project, he explains, “I decided not to go for a grant. I’m not sure, but in the United States I believe there are grants for this sort of thing. I just decided to do it on my own budget – kind of low key”. He adds, “I also have Aeroplan points, so I get free flights”. He is making great use of the budget that he does have, however. During his stay in Halifax, he and his wife, Monica, both stayed at Halifax Backpackers on Gottingen Street; a hostel for “experiential” travelers on a tight budget. Staying at Halifax Backpackers was extra convenient for him, as he interviewed the two young entrepreneurs who founded it as well.

In order for this book to have the educational impact he wishes, the topic of publishing arose. “I’m at the point where I need to decide if I want to self-publish or get a publisher. I was told that if you self-publish you probably won’t get into places like Chapters. Past that, you have to do your own marketing which is a downside because most people don’t have the time to hustle and sell. I haven’t crossed that bridge yet”.

As both of his children, Tyler and Kirby, became entrepreneurs themselves, the question came up regarding the impacts that he and his wife may have had on their own children’s decision to be entrepreneurs. “Good question,” he says. “Because my background has been working with ‘troubled’ kids, out of that I learned a lot about the balance between helping, and allowing them to make their own decisions. My style in seeing our sons develop the company was to listen and encourage, but never to put down. In my experience I know that one negative said to a child could hurt them forever”.

Monica Gompf remembers an incident that she thinks may have had an effect on her eldest son’s career choice. “I remember when our son graduated from university and he had a job that he really liked - working with RVs. I remember saying to him something like, ‘that’s not a very good job’, because my expectation was, ‘you just got a degree… go out and use it!’ I’m sure that he knew I wanted him to be more productive, and not to be an employee”. The Gompf’s did support their sons in becoming entrepreneurs. The fact that they co-signed a loan for their sons to cover start-up costs resonates a deep support. Mr. Gompf notes that many young entrepreneurs said their company would not have survived without some family backing in one way or another.

Before the interview wrapped up, he offered a token of advice for the parents of entrepreneurs, based on his research findings this far; “Parents need to walk a fine line between being supportive when they need to be, but without taking control. When a young entrepreneur is struggling financially, a parent who brings them a meal can make all the difference. It’s the small things we do and say that affect people”. He states, “The true entrepreneur is passionate about what they’re doing, and they’re going to do it anyway – but there is a parental aspect in the background somewhere that is often not talked about, and hasn’t really been written about.” His book hopes to reconcile this issue by creating a basis for discussion between entrepreneurs and parents.

The book remains un-named for now as, “the name will pop up in an interview somewhere that will just fit.” Still in the research and interviewing phase, he projects that his book will be on bookshelves by 2009. Until then, he will be devoting much of his time and energy nurturing his brainchild. “Making money is not my goal with this book, but if it can be helpful to somebody somewhere, then it’ll be worth it.”
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The interview with Karl and Monica Gompf took place on
November 2, 2006.