Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Slear.
Hi Dave, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After graduating from college with an engineering degree, I joined the United States Navy and was commissioned as a Surface Warfare Officer. My father had served as a Submarine Officer and, like many young men who are not really sure what to do with themselves, I was following in his footsteps to start my career. And it was the most wonderful way to start out your professional life! We lived in Hawaii and California, got to tour the Far East and the Middle East, had amazing responsibility at a young age, and made lifelong friendships. And the Navy, like so many businesses in life, is about people; the chance to lead and be inspired by passionate people at such a young age was game-changing for me. It formed the leader that I am today.
However, after eight years my wife and I decided that it was time to try out something else. The Navy had been great, but it is a hard lifestyle and we were ready to start a family. So, after some business school, I ended up in the mortgage industry and worked in that field for 20 years. I had roles with large banks (e.g., HSBC and Goldman Sachs) and several small mortgage firms. These roles brought us from Chicago down to Dallas about 10 years ago, which has been a wonderful move for us professionally and for our family.
Working in a large industry was rewarding, but when we moved to Dallas, I had the chance to become involved with a non-profit rowing club out at White Rock Lake, Dallas United Crew. This time serving on the club’s board really gave me an appreciation for running a small business. The work was more exciting, the challenges more interesting, and the people more passionate. I began to formulate plans to run a small business. And when we sold the last mortgage firm I was working at during the end of the COVID pandemic, I had the springboard I needed to launch into that dream.
The problem was, where do you find a “good” small business?! I knew that I wanted a firm that had a track record and history, startups are not that interesting to me. I am best at taking things, making them better, and growing them. It is what I have done my whole career. And having people in the business who have the same passion for building something great was going to be critical. After months of looking for the right opportunity, I was fortunate in meeting Gary Young. Gary had owned HighTech Signs DFW for 30 years. and he had built a team of talented people at the shop, some with over 25 years of experience. I liked Gary right from the start and saw someone I would enjoy working and transitioning with. I knew this was the right fit for me.
Gary had made the decision to sell the business to focus on other investments he owned and we were well into finalizing our deal when he unexpectedly passed over Thanksgiving last year. With such an expected shock hitting his family and the company, I am focused now on continuing his legacy. And I feel very proud to have the opportunity to continue building this great business that he built for 30 years. All of the original staff has remained with the firm and we are continuing to add amazing people who have the passion to grow a great company. Hightech Signs DFW has always had a reputation for quality, and that focus is one of the things that immediately drew me to the company. I could tell during my due diligence that the shop was focused on fair prices, quick response, and a quality product. Those are all things that I am passionate about and am excited to continue building a business around. We serve the DFW metroplex and all of North Texas, and I can’t think of a better place to be than right here with this team!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Transitions are often bumpy, and this one has certainly been bumpy! As I mentioned, the prior owner passed unexpectantly last Thanksgiving. I have extensive leadership and business management experience, but I have never worked in the sign industry. I had expected that the prior owner would be available to shepherd me into this new career. But he is not available and the team is going through that transition period of learning what the ‘new boss’ is like. And while there have certainly been growing pains, the transition is proceeding about as I expected it would.
What has helped with the transition of leadership is that we have great financial backing, a very strong team, and are in an amazing, growing market in Texas. We have the wind at our back in many areas.
The core issue all small businesses are facing today is inflation. Our raw material prices are increasing dramatically and we have to be in front of that wave if we are going to maintain a healthy balance sheet. I have several friends running small businesses and they have all struggled to stay on top of rising prices. During the past 10-20 years, updating costs and prices in your platform was something that you only had to do about once a year. With the rapid changes happening today, it is a process that we need to keep on top of weekly.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My professional training and career have all been rather unartistic. I have a degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in business administration. I have worked for the US Navy, McKinsey & Co (a business consulting firm), HSBC (a large British international bank), Goldman Sachs (a Wall Street bank), and numerous small mortgage firms. Contrary to what some of the CEOs of those firms might claim, there is not a creative gene in any of their cultures. They have cultures of process, execution, science, conformity, and risk avoidance.
While I have grown up in those cultures, and I appreciate all the positive things they bring, I also have a creative side to my culture that needs an outlet. I have been an avid woodworker for most of my adult life, focusing on the creation of interesting furniture (especially 18th-century American furniture). Most recently I have taken up photography and filmmaking. This started as a travel film hobby, but the work with the rowing club has really piqued my interest in expanding photography and filmmaking into new areas.
My new adventure into the world of sign manufacturing is an amazing intersection of these two passions. The business needs all the rigor and process that I have been trained in my entire career. However, the business is really about creation and art. We make custom products that are the statement and brand that our clients are putting out into the world. And the people who work here are true artists; they are working with paint, acrylic, aluminum, vinyl, engravers, etc. and they are creating works of art to tell a message, sell a story and live a brand. One of our installation team recently said he wouldn’t install some vinyl at a client’s store because “It isn’t beautiful. The lines are not cut straight.” And he was right, it was not up to our standard and we recut that part. Creative people and artists want to create things that are beautiful.
Our motto is Visually Limitless and I love how that captures the essence of the great people who work here.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
We have had such an amazing journey moving to Dallas. We moved from Chicago 10 years ago, and my three kids were all school age at the time, which for any parent is a hard decision to make. Moving kids that age can be difficult. My daughter, our oldest, had made some connections with kids here just before our move. The day after we moved into the new house, a pickup truck pulled up with three boys, Bo, Holt, and Chuck. I told my wife, “Well, we are in Texas now.” But with all those Texas cliches came all the Texas hospitality. All three of my kids very quickly integrated and found their own success in Dallas. And it was that warmth and interest in helping people that have made our move to Dallas so wonderful. And you couple that with the “Texas Attitude”. At least that is what I call it. Texas was the only state that voted to join the Union, and people from Texas always have a little attitude that “if we don’t like it, we might do something different.” I like that little chip on people’s shoulder that ‘Everything is Bigger in Texas’ and the bit of bravado that comes with that!
And that vibrance is probably part of why so many others are moving to DFW as well. Being part of a growing metroplex has been the best part of being in Dallas. There are so many opportunities here in Texas and you can do and be whatever you want to make happen. I even like the heat now. I’ll take Texas in August over Chicago in January any day of the week!
The thing I like least is not really a thing yet. What I worry about is keeping the spirit and things that make Dallas and Texas exciting, even with the large influx of people from other places. Keeping the Texas Attitude, the vibrance, the warmth, and the spirit are key to keeping Dallas a great place to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: hightechsignshop.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hightechsigns_dfw/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HightechSignDFW
