Daniel Propp joined A&M's Corporate Performance Improvement practice after college, was promoted to Consultant, and left to pursue a dream and build something new. Today he is Co-Founder of Custom Supply Group, a promotional products and apparel company, and Owner of Collide Coffee, a direct-to-consumer coffee brand with a charitable mission rooted in supporting a nonprofit with charitable work in the Dominican Republic.  

From Consultant to Entrepreneur: How A&M Built the Foundation

What skills from your time at A&M do you rely on most as a business owner today?

The standard at A&M was simple but unwavering: move fast and deliver gold standard work. As a consultant, you learn to double-check everything, to be thorough without slowing down. As a business owner, with a thousand different things coming up or going out in front of clients at any given moment, that combination of speed and quality is something I rely on every single day. 

How has A&M's diagnostic mindset given you an edge as a business owner? 

During my time at A&M, I learned to follow the path down to the root: this big problem started from this one small decision. That changes how you think. Now, as a business owner, I am constantly thinking about the downstream impact of decisions that might seem meaningless in the moment. Because of A&M, I have this longer, down-the-road vision that I apply to everything. 

Where did the conviction to build something of your own come from, and how did consulting prepare you for running multiple ventures? 

I have always wanted to run my own company. What consulting gave me was exposure to a variety of industries, problems, and solutions, along with the skills to move quickly, stay dynamic, and manage time well. Every year I was at A&M, I felt myself getting closer to being ready to take that jump. A&M helped me be more confident in my ability to balance priorities, delegate, and execute. So much of running multiple businesses comes down to project management: who do I need to put in the right place to help me achieve and succeed on all of it? 

Lessons in Leadership: Documentation, Service and the A&M Way 

Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently in your first year?

Document everything, starting from day one. I would have set up standard operating procedures earlier. Now that our team is growing and we are hiring, we are realizing how much tribal knowledge was living in our heads, with no clear process or workflow for anyone else to follow. 

What is the most valuable thing A&M gave you?