Founder in Focus: Rob Petrozzo of Rally

I had the opportunity to interview Rally cofounder Rob Petrozzo. Like many founders, Rob traces his natural progression for creativity back to his youth. He'd draw and design plans to make sneakers, high rise buildings - he had millions of ideas he'd put down on paper. He turned that passion into art education and was lucky to have a supportive family who never questioned his ability to turn design into a career. Inspiring teachers along the way reminded him often he could build a real career and write his own story.

Growing up in Brooklyn, his parents where entrepreneurs. They owned a local Italian restaurant for the majority of Rob's childhood. Here he learned the value of hard work. His first job was bussing tables at thirteen years old. If you know the restaurant business, you know it's a 24 hour job. Good restaurants are the epitome of a service business. You're dealing with a million personalities and a million problems at the same time. Rob learned quickly that keeping different customer types happy simultaneously is a skill you need to shape a successful business.

The drive to become an entrepreneur isn't usually a conscious decision for many founders. After college, Rob was keen on getting to work and building his career. He made extra money doing freelance design for the music industry while in college. He used that money to set up small design studio in a part of downtown Brooklyn called Dumbo. He started working free for anyone who had a large audience he could get his work in front of. This was before lnstagram. Back then, freelancers needed real word of mouth to stay relevant. But the phone started ringing with opportunities, and Rob put his head down and pumped out as much design work as he could. It was through this experience he realized he wouldn't work for anyone else without some form of equity; whether on paper or through the value of the relationship.

On becoming a founder, Rob credits a lot of conversations with Chris Bruno, whom he calls "the smartest person I've ever worked with". Rob says Chris is the guy within his group of friends you listen to when they say "I have an idea." The two had mulled putting something together around 2014. Rob would do product design, and Chris would do the operations side of the business. An early idea was ''The Rolling Stock Exchange." Robinhood was getting traction around this time as retail investors were flocking to mobile as a point of entry into the markets. Concurrently, TV reality shows around collector cars and collector car auctions were booming.

There was an asymmetry between real car enthusiasts and the people with wallets deep enough to access the classic car market. Rob and Chris began making lists of all the asset classes where asymmetry existed. This seemed to coalesce around collectibles - cars, watches, sports trading cards. Rob says, "Everything you see on Rally now is basically the 15 year old version of us wishing we had it."

The final piece in the Rally puzzle was their third cofounder, Max Niederste-Ostholt. He was Chris' roommate in college. He’d done private placement deals at Barclays. He understood how to structure deals and bring them to life, but he's also a creative a heart. Twelve months later, the crew had the first version of Rally. It almost accidentally went from idea to business without them even realizing it.

Rally's assets are what makes it stand out from the crowd. They've got a data layer informing them what will be successful, but everyone there is a collector in some form or fashion. Rally excels at adding emotion to the process; it's a true differentiator. They were first in the space, but still curate each asset individually to ensure it's something they truly believe in. This approach has led to some very popular offerings, like vintage Apple products, and dinosaurs. The team won't act like their voice is the most important voice. They continue to interact directly with their users; the entire executive team is still on every single customer service thread. They've never lost sight of the fact that the hundreds of thousands of people on Rally are looking for the same things they are, and those people are what have made Rally successful. It's the strength of that community; those who see the authenticity and transparency of what comes to market - confident in the fact Rally will never cut corners, regardless of whether or not it scales.

As entrepreneurs and founders, generating new ideas is critical to continued success. Rob gets his ideas from individual thought sometimes, but it’s the community you build that allows you to iterate. Luckily, the community around Rally is active and engaged. Many of the concepts and features on Rally came from community feedback – the voting structure for buyouts, email content, some of the most successful assets on Rally – all came from addressing the needs of the community. Coming up with ideas is easy; it’s leaning on the crowd and using what you learn that makes it real. The virtuous cycle keeps Rob motivated. Putting out new products and generating a positive reaction keeps the team moving. The entire team is happiest and most effective when there’s excitement in the community for the assets and products being released. It’s a constant chase, and a constant motivator.

On a personal level for Rob, his entrepreneurial motivations have morphed since the beginning. Now it’s about being around young, ambitious people who can see around corners and point out what he might be missing. Having new energy around, and a continuously changing landscape are part of building a team that allows him to be more open-minded and accept he doesn’t know everything. Building solo in the beginning is great, but building with smart people who can guide you and keep you focused is necessary if you want to create anything new at scale.

When asked about some of the moments he’s most proud of as an entrepreneur, Rob’s still excited any time he hears someone say they know Rally, or use the app. Hearing it from strangers and people he respects within the industry is a huge motivator. He says when Rally was getting ready to open their first retail museum space in SoHo, the store was wrapped in vinyl with just the logo on it while construction was ongoing. Two kids walked by carrying bags from Supreme, which was just one block north at the time. One of the kids asked the other, “What’s this?” The other kid explained exactly what Rally was – the entire business; then added, “I heard they’re putting a Lamborghini in there!” Rob hadn’t told anyone that, so it was shocking – the first time he realized the Rally concept was resonating with people. Rob says, “When strangers use your product, and care about it enough to pitch other people; that still blows my mind to this day.”

On the topic of entrepreneurial advice, Rob has a go-to quote he learned from a mentor. It’s one he uses often with his teams, “Never finished, always complete.” It’s a more accurate version of the famous Zuckerberg quote, “Move fast and break things.” The ideas is to keep moving and always have something presentable. When you’re building, it’s a personal experience, but at some point you’ll be put in an unexpected position where you’ll need to show someone in a position to help you what you’ve worked on. Those are that moments that propel your idea and make it real. The finish line tends to move back, but having tangible and presentable goals are part of making leaps in the journey.

No man is an island, and most entrepreneurs look to others for inspiration. For Rob, first is his father. Someone who has reinvented himself and his career so many times over the years with success – and always ahead of trends. Rob also points to Howard Lindzon and Alexis Ohanian as great examples of incredibly smart entrepreneurs and founders who’ve achieved a level of success Rob aspires to, all without having to sacrifice their personalities. Going further back, Rob points to people in the music industry who gave him early breaks; DJ Drama, John Monopoly, and Steve Carless – all of whom became important names in the space, but always had the time to drop some gems.

With all my Founders in Focus pieces, I like to get their advice for people who want to go into business. Rob’s advice? The ability to accept and understand new information is far more important than your output. Technology moves at an incredibly fast pace. The languages and platforms being used to create the future are constantly changing. There’s a comfort level you’ll hit when managing a great group of people, or have reached a certain level – and that’s when it gets really, really dangerous. It’s easy to get disconnected from the day to day – you’re always busying trying to find ways to make the business better. But, you need to step back and find ways to make yourself better, to understand the world around you as it changes. Take time for personal growth and to learn new skills. At times, taking a few hours a week away from “real work” feels counterproductive, but it compounds over time into new skills. It’s a must.