Foreword

Summary

Mark Ain comes from a distinguished line of pioneers and entrepreneurs. His mother, Pearl, was one of the first women to graduate from Columbia Law School—several years before the late Chief Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Earlier, Pearl's mother, Dora Ponemon, at the age of 16, told Mark's maternal grandfather, Harry, that their betrothal hinged on his willingness to control his own destiny by becoming his own boss. In words Dora relayed to young Mark time and again as she mentored her bright young grandson, she told Harry she wanted to be married to a horse and not a mule. Harry heeded Dora’s mandate, they married, and together became entrepreneurs, starting and running several successful business ventures rather than have others boss them around.

This engaging book relays how Mark Ain followed his grandmother’s advice and forsook a plodding, mulish existence in the corporate world for the riskier and ultimately much more rewarding life of an entrepreneurial thoroughbred. Mark's role in the creation and growth of Kronos, a human capital management firm that now generates over $3 billion in annual revenue and, as the Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG), has over 12,000 employees, provides many valuable lessons. For those seeking to either follow in Mark's entrepreneurial footsteps or foster an entrepreneurial culture within more established organizations, the principles behind his success are instructive.

What gets less attention in the book is Mark's commitment to giving back and paying forward to others via the prosperity he has realized through his entrepreneurial leadership of Kronos. As the Vice Provost of Entrepreneurship at the University of Rochester and as the former dean of Mark's alma mater the Simon Business School, respectively, the two of us can attest to the profound difference that Mark has made in developing a next generation of entrepreneurial thoroughbreds— through his involvement, insight, investment, and inspiration.

We were there in the Eastman Theater audience in 2005 when Mark gave his thoughtful and uplifting speech (reprinted in Chapter 22) to several hundred Simon students about to officially receive their MBA degrees. Over the years that followed, we had the honor and pleasure of working with Mark as he joined relevant advisory boards (Simon's Executive Advisory Committee and the University of Rochester's Board of Trustees);