Seizing Opportunity With Grunt Style's Tim Jensen
SNIPPET # 44
He could have been mad he didn’t get the job. He could have been insulted when he was then offered a different position with the same company – the lowest ranked position there was. But Tim Jensen didn’t thrive in the Marine Corps by letting pride stand in his way and he wasn’t about to let his ego win the day now, either. So if Daniel Alarik, the CEO of Grunt Style told him to fold shirts, he’d be the best shirt-folder of all time. And if there was still work that needed to be done after he clocked out, he’d do it for free, because he values opportunity more than ego.
It was a good decision. No – it was a great decision. In the five years since he was rejected for his desired job in the small startup company, Tim Jensen worked his way to the top of Grunt Style.
Now Tim Jensen is COO and partner at the company valued well over 100 million dollars, and he’s barely even begun tapping in to all the potential this path has to offer.
“I have a pride in myself but I also know what I’m a part of,” Tim explains. “And there’s going to be times that it makes sense to clock out and still put in the work that needs to be done. “
That mindset is a key component of the work ethic Tim lives by. There’s no timeclock to punch in combat. Rest waits until the battle is over. Folding shirts may not have been his dream job but he made it his mission to do whatever it took to grow with the company he knew was special from the first day.
Pride in Self. Pride in Military. Pride in Country.
This is the code he lived by in the Marine Corps. It’s the same code Daniel Alarik, founder and CEO of Grunt Style, carried from the military into his company. For Daniel, Tim, and hundreds of other veterans working alongside civilians in Grunt Style’s unique environment, that code created a community that is worth every drop of sweat put into it.
Tim Jensen attacks each day with all he’s got. “I’m going to walk into work each day and crush it” he says, because he loves what he does and who he does it with. “I have the best possible people to my left and right.” The force cohesion and unity in purpose provides continuity in that it replicates the military service so ingrained in him.
“Culture is just as much of the product we sell as anything else,” Tim says, and his personality contributes mightily to that culture of patriotism, national pride, and dry humor that has woven this company into the hearts of millions of people.
It was the whiff of that culture that Tim Jensen caught that first day he interviewed. Where some people may have seen nothing more than a five-man workforce in a tiny startup company, with a boss who had the audacity to suggest he is unworthy of anything other than a menial position, Tim sniffed out the opportunity. He’d sampled other civilian workforces and his palate did not like what it tasted. To him, any position was a foot in the door and well worth the effort.
It didn’t take long for Tim Jensen’s instinct to be proven right.
With one eye always open for the next opportunity, Tim doubled down on his efforts, always putting in more than was asked, always contributing to the team effort, and always ready to pounce on his next pursuit. As the company grew, so did its need for leadership in each new discipline.
Tim instantly volunteered for those leadership positions, whether he was skilled in that specific area or not. Skills can be taught, and he is a quick study. What cannot be taught is the natural leadership quality that makes people want to be a part of whatever he’s in front of.
There’s a difference between demanding respect and earning it. Tim is not the kind of guy any sane person would choose to tangle with, based simply on his stature and the calm yet unmistakable self-awareness that he can unleash a can of kickass on anyone who deserves it. But it’s his humor and intellect that are his truest assets.
In one conversation Tim can be swinging on a porch, trading swigs of Grunt Style’s Merica Bourbon with his partner and buddy Dan Alarick, talking about whatever pops into their heads. In the next, he tries and fails to hide his hidden passion for talking economics – capitalism, to be precise. Then, he’s laughing about something else, as his young teething son seems to pipe in his own opinion from behind him, and Tim circles back to the importance of pouncing on opportunity.
He doesn’t have to say the word “passionate” when he talks about shooting, because his eyes say it for him, lighting up along with his smile when he talks about his competitive shooting career. His pride and excitement for the sport are so strong, his casual comment about purchasing a sniper competition he placed second in seemed like an afterthought.
Say hello to the new owner of the Mammoth Sniper Challenge.
“My shooting partner and I have taken second in… one of the most prestigious sniper competitions, which I ended up buying,” he explained. After years of attending as a participant, increasingly aware of all the opportunities the event sponsors were missing, Tim mentioned it to at least one sponsor. When that sponsor failed to grasp the opportunity, Tim seized it for himself and Grunt Style. The result?
“G3 will be the vehicle that transcends that whole industry.”
Together with Grunt Style, Tim is about to change the landscape of competitive shooting. G3 is set to create competitive shooting events packed with entertainment value and capitalizing on every nugget of opportunity it serves up. Now, shooting enthusiasts everywhere will have a counterpunch to anyone who wants to stay home on a Saturday and watch the Golf Channel, and rather than spectator-challenged events, competitors will need ear protection not just for their shots, but for the applause booming from packed houses.
It’s a bold move but that’s how he rolls. Every opportunity carries an element of risk, but no risk is greater than letting an opportunity pass by. This is his American Dream and he’s going for it. He’s earned that right and he encourages every American to do the same.
[clickToTweet tweet=”People say the American Dream is dead. I don’t think it’s dead at all. I think we probably have more opportunity today than the last hundred years…If you have an idea all you have to do is envision it in your hand and make it work.” quote=”People say the American Dream is dead. I don’t think it’s dead at all. I think we probably have more opportunity today than the last hundred years…If you have an idea all you have to do is envision it in your hand and make it work. – Tim Jensen” theme=”style5″]
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