Quentin Fischer

An entrepreneur from South Riding, Virginia, building a company with his father — and refusing to describe it as further along than it is.

Quentin Fischer is an entrepreneur from South Riding, Virginia, currently working with his father to build a new business. The company is still in the development stage, so much of his work is research: evaluating options and looking for manufacturers that could be a good fit.

That candour is unusual in an interview series. Fischer is explicit that nothing has launched, that pricing has not been set, that the final market position is still being worked out, and that he would rather say so than present the venture as further along than it is. His focus, as he puts it, is on learning the process and making sound decisions before moving forward.

The approach comes out of automotive sales, where he learned to listen before deciding what someone needs, to handle rejection, and to review a lost sale rather than blame the circumstances. Sports taught him accountability and how to show up for other people. His parents remain a major influence, and working alongside his father gives him the chance to learn directly from him.

He describes himself as someone who is always learning — an idea he wants to carry into the company itself: accountability at the centre of it, adaptability alongside, and a willingness to acknowledge mistakes.

Building a Business Before Launch

How are you approaching the operating model for the business?

That is still being determined. One of our priorities is finding the right manufacturing partners, so outside suppliers will be part of the model. Beyond that, we haven’t finalized decisions about what we handle ourselves and what we outsource. At this stage, I think it is more important to understand what each part of the business requires before deciding how to structure it.

How do you plan to differentiate the business once it enters the market?

I want customer needs to influence how we operate. My experience in automotive sales taught me that you cannot assume every customer wants the same thing. You have to listen first. I also believe consistency matters. A company should be able to deliver the same level of service repeatedly, not only when circumstances are ideal.

What market or customer base will the company serve?

We are still working through the specifics of the business, including its final market position. I would rather be clear about that than name industries or customer groups we have not committed to serving. The work we are doing now, including manufacturer research, is part of determining where we can operate effectively.

What customer needs do you expect the business to address?

The exact offering is still being developed. What I can say is that I want the business to solve a real customer need rather than create something simply because we want to sell it. My sales experience taught me to start by understanding what someone actually needs and then determine whether you can provide the right solution.

How do you stay informed while developing a business in an unfamiliar market?

I try to put myself in environments where I have something to learn. I ask questions, research companies, pay attention to how experienced people operate, and look at different options before reaching conclusions. I don’t assume I know something I haven’t experienced yet. Being willing to admit what I don’t know makes it easier to find useful information.

Putting the Customer First

How are you thinking about building repeat business and customer loyalty?

We do not have customers yet, so there is no repeat-client percentage to report. My approach would be to earn repeat business through consistency and communication. When I sold cars, I learned that customers remember whether you listened to them and whether the process felt straightforward. I want to bring that same customer-focused approach into the business.

How will you measure customer satisfaction?

We have not established formal metrics yet. Once we are operating, I want customer feedback to be something we actively use rather than collect and ignore. Repeat business, referrals, complaints, response times, and direct feedback can all provide useful information. The specific measurement system will depend on the final business model.

What kind of support do you expect customers to receive after a purchase or project?

That process has not been finalized. My preference is that the relationship should not automatically end once a transaction is completed. If a customer has a reasonable question or issue related to what we provided, there should be a clear way to reach us and understand what happens next.

Pricing and Choosing the Right Work

How are you approaching pricing and billing?

Pricing has not been finalized because we are still evaluating manufacturers and developing the operating model. Manufacturing costs and other expenses will affect what is realistic. I do not want to guess at numbers before we understand the economics of the business.

What price range do you expect the company to operate within?

We do not have a reliable range yet. I think we need to consider affordability alongside quality and sustainability. Charging too much creates a customer problem, but charging too little can create an operational problem. We need enough information about costs and the market before setting pricing.

Would you turn down business that was not a good fit?

Yes. I learned in sales that not every transaction is necessarily the right transaction. We have not established formal minimum requirements yet, but I would rather walk away from something we cannot deliver properly than make a promise just to generate revenue.

Lessons from Automotive Sales

What has been one of your biggest challenges so far?

Earlier in my life, I think one of my biggest obstacles was myself. I could hold myself back by overthinking. I started seeing more progress when I did more and learned from what happened. In automotive sales, I once lost a sale and reviewed the entire interaction afterward. I applied what I learned to the next customer and made the sale. That changed how I approach setbacks.

How do you plan to keep the company adaptable as the market changes?

I think adaptability starts with paying attention. If customers tell you something isn’t working, you need to hear it. If a supplier creates a constraint, you need alternatives. I describe myself as someone who is always learning, and I want that mindset to carry into the business.

Culture, Leadership and the Long View

What kind of company culture do you want to build?

I want accountability to be central to it. One idea I come back to is that no one else will do the work for me. That does not mean doing everything alone. It means taking responsibility for your part. I also value adaptability, learning, and being willing to acknowledge mistakes.

Where would you like the business to be in five to ten years?

I want it to be established, sustainable, and respected by its customers. I am deliberately not attaching a revenue number or size to that goal yet because we are still building the foundation. The immediate priority is creating something that works. Scale should come after that.

How has your approach to leadership developed through your early career?

I am still developing it. My parents have been major influences, and working with my father gives me an opportunity to learn directly from him. Sports also taught me accountability and how to show up for other people. Sales taught me to listen before deciding what someone needs.

What technologies or market changes are you paying attention to?

I am interested in technology that can make businesses more efficient, but we have not selected specific systems for the company yet. My approach is practical. I want to understand what a technology improves before adopting it simply because it is new.

Advice for Young Entrepreneurs

What would you tell another young person who wants to become an entrepreneur?

Get experience that forces you to deal with real situations. Sales helped me because I had to communicate with different people, handle rejection, and adjust quickly. When something goes wrong, review what happened instead of immediately blaming the circumstances. The biggest lesson I have learned so far is that progress requires action. You can prepare, research, and ask for advice, but eventually you have to do the work and learn from the result.

Key Learnings

• Understand what each part of a business requires before deciding how to structure it. Committing to an operating model early means making decisions you cannot yet inform.
• Listen before assuming. Not every customer wants the same thing, and the need has to come before the solution.
• Say what you do not know. Admitting the gap is what makes it possible to find useful information.
• Turn down work you cannot deliver properly. Not every transaction is the right transaction, and a promise made to generate revenue becomes an operational problem later.
• Progress requires action. Preparation, research and advice all matter, but eventually you have to do the work and learn from the result.

What Is the Development Stage of a Business?

The development stage is the period before a company sells anything — after the idea, before the launch. Depending on the venture it can involve product design, prototyping, sourcing suppliers, testing regulations and costing the whole thing out. What it does not involve is customers, revenue or the metrics most business interviews are built around.

For a physical product, the manufacturer search Fischer describes usually sits at the front of that sequence, because so much else depends on it. Unit cost determines what pricing is realistic. Minimum order quantities determine how much inventory has to be financed before the first sale. Lead times shape the launch schedule. Which supplier can do what also decides the operating model question — what a company handles in-house and what it outsources is largely settled by what its partners already do well.

That is why founders at this stage answer in provisionals, and why the honest version sounds less impressive than the alternative. The pressure runs the other way: pre-launch companies are routinely described in the present tense, with a market position, a price point and a customer base that exist only on a slide. Naming them early is easy, and it is how a founder ends up committed publicly to decisions the research has not yet supported.

The useful signal at this stage is not the pitch but the process — whether a founder is asking questions of people who have done it before, evaluating more than one option, and prepared to say that something has not been decided yet.