Meet Bruno Bornsztein | Software developer and entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bruno Bornsztein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bruno, how do you think about risk?
I consider myself pretty risk-averse, but to most people starting your own business seems incredibly risky. I guess it really depends how you frame your priorities. For me, having control over my time (when/how I work) was always a very important priority. So becoming an entrepreneur actually felt like a *less* risky alternative than a traditional career path (lower risk that I’d get stuck behind a desk all day).

Whenever I get a bit worried about how things in the business might go wrong, I try to remember that I’m incredibly privileged to even be in the position to take these types of chances.

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?
I’m the founder of InfluenceKit – an influencer marketing software tool for brands and agencies. We help make the influencer marketing process easier to manage and report on.

Through my work on InfluenceKit, I’ve gotten to interact with hundreds of independent content creators in the food, DIY, travel and lifestyle spaces. It’s amazing to see the birth of an entire industry – people who have incredible talents finding a way to turn those skills into business that support their families. Although it’s still a bit messy (influencer marketing is not without downsides), our goal at InfluenceKit is to help bring about the best brand/influencer/audience relationships.

Building InfluenceKit has been a long journey – the product started out as an internal tool that I developed for a previous business. It took years before I realized I had something that could stand on its own, and still more time before we figured out how to bring the product to market (and which *part* of the market to approach!). Entrepreneurship requires a ridiculous amount of patience – the only way it works is if you enjoy what you’re working on from day to day, and if you give yourself time to decompress and get distance every so often. Balance, focus, and persistence.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m from Minneapolis – so the first thing I’d say is: come in the summer! Winter in Minnesota has its appeal, but you really have to work for it. Summer, on the other had, is kind of glorious up here, and there are millions of things to do.

I’d start with a bike ride around the Chain of Lakes, stopping for lunch at Punch Pizza and a quick swim in Cedar Lake. Then I’d head over to the Stone Arch bridge and check out the Mill City Museum (always fun with kids). A great (free) stop is right next door – the Guthrie Theater Endless Bridge cantilevers 178 feet and offers great views of the Mississippi River.

Dinner would find me over in St. Paul at Myriel for their chef’s tasting menu. Last time I was there the power had gone out on the whole block, but they kept serving by candlelight, and it was perfect. You probably can’t count on that happening again, but …

After dinner, grab a drink on the patio at W.A. Frost in St. Paul’s Cathedral Hill neighborhood. It’s my favorite patio in town.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d have to shoutout to my dad, who fronted me the $50 to fund my first business endeavor (selling soda outside the Minnesota State Fair), and my mom, who showed me how hard work and fun work can be the same thing.

Website: www.influencekit.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/influencekit/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/brunotorious