Meet Dr. Brandon Chicotsky | TCU Marketing Professor & Business Broker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Brandon Chicotsky and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Brandon, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Having an asymmetric insight, conducting due diligence, and then moving with conviction looks risky, but it’s not. “Risk” is often the opinion or assessment rendered by outside parties (or internal preservation-minded stakeholders) without such thoroughness and conviction. That input should function as informal data (i.e., their fear or concern adds anecdotal context to how or why you are “on to something”), rather than a deterrent from pursuing an opportunity.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
First and foremost, I am a marketing professor at the TCU Neeley School of Business. Many of my colleagues are involved in formative research which adds peripheral knowledge to my lectures and business. Each course that I lead has mid-market clients for whom my students offer real marketing solutions. The application of their learning is meant to drive value. I often bring deal action to lectures, along with executive speakers to reflect on their operational oversight or industry outlook.

Alongside family, I lead a business brokerage that helps mid-market buyers and sellers. I got here by experiencing an exit of my own, becoming an active angel and advisor, and then helping others buy or sell companies. This experience became a formal process with our administrative office in Fort Worth.

Gaining the credentials, capital, and community was [sometimes excruciatingly] difficult over the past twenty years, and I’m grateful for each lesson accrued. A high threshold for pain is helpful for anyone who intends to do anything meaningful.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Fort Worth is a special place to live or visit. I would first recommend staying at the majestic western chic Hotel Drover in the Stockyards, or Cultural District luxury stays at The Crescent Hotel, Bowie House, or Hotel Dryce. There are other options worth exploring beyond my recommendations with new renovations in some of our downtown hotels.

From there, we should meet at one of the premier restaurants in the town’s vibrant dining scene. We have talented chefs such as Tim Love (Lonesome Dove, a personal favorite), Graham Elliot (F1 Smokehouse), Felipe Armenta (The Tavern and Pacific Table), and Molly McCook (Ellerbe Fine Foods). The list of chef-led spots in town is growing beyond these quick mentions.

We would then peruse some of our world-class museums in the Cultural District, audit a lecture at our top-tier academic institutions, Texas Christian University and Texas A&M School of Law, and then head to the stockyards to see some of the best country artists in America. My favorite location is Little Red’s Longhorn Saloon on a Wednesday or Saturday evening to see Landon Dodd where you can meet competitive bull riders and equestrians. Dodd plays the Highwaymen hits as well as anyone could, among other outlaw country pieces that give thematic nods to Fort Worth’s western frontier days.

A more ambitious night would also include the rodeo which takes place each week or an Off-Broadway production at the Bass Hall. Evening business gatherings at one of our downtown upscale commerce clubs are worth engaging before a big dinner and outing. There, a visitor will see our energy and defense sectors that form the bedrock of Cowtown. All the while, the city will offer a business community that is smart, friendly, and distinguishably Texan.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Among G. Carter is the contemporary godfather of Fort Worth. Learning about his life, his accomplishments, and his ethos has helped instill values and informed a mission for where and how I endeavor.

Website: https://www.godblessretirement.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chicotsky/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chicotsky

Other: https://neeley.tcu.edu/chicotsky