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I call my consulting company, ZQI, Inc., The Shop for Social Entrepreneurship. "ZQI" is an acronym springing from Zurick's Quonset Inn. John and Margaret Zurick, my parents, purchased Butch's Quonset Inn in 1950, the year of my birth, and renamed it Zurick's Quonset Inn. Tavern, beer joint, saloon, family restaurant, hot dog stand, short order eatery, small town night club, realization of the American dream…"the Quonset," as it was known to its clientele, was all these things. To purchase the business, when I was ten months old, my parents invested all their cash and leveraged all their worldly possessions, thereby casting themselves off on the sea of passion, anxiety, exuberance, competition and risk every true entrepreneur navigates everyday. I grew up not only as their son, but also as their confidant in the nurturing of this family enterprise, and as witness to all of its ups and downs. The Quonset grew and prospered over the first twenty years of my life. At the core of its success were the essential elements of every entrepreneurial enterprise. My formative years were tied to the fortunes of this business as intrinsically as they were tied to the two people who were its heart and soul. I was privileged to cut my teeth as an entrepreneur while I was cutting my teeth. I studied theater as an undergraduate at the State University of New York at Brockport. I earned my Master of Fine Arts degree at Brandeis University, and about a year later, co-produced my first play in London. Subsequent productions in Boston and New York featured, among others, Al Pacino, Eva Marie Saint, Jose Ferrer, Ben Gazzara and Colleen Dewhurst in works by Brecht, Shaw, Strindberg, Miller and O'Casey. Then my work took me to advertising, as a writer, account manager and then creative director on the Wendy's Hamburger account. Burning out quickly on the burger business, and yearning for a return to the arts, I served five years as marketing director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, introducing the orchestra's 16,000-seat outdoor concert venue, Riverbend Music Center. In 1989 I raised $4 million in venture capital and started Finis, Cincinnati's award-winning video post-production company. I sold my interest in that company in 1994 and started ZQI, beginning my career as a leadership consultant and card-carrying social entrepreneur. Other professional experiences include: executive producer of the full-length documentary film, Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass, which aired on TNN and the BBC; producer and director of Uptown Shopping, a home-shopping sitcom broadcast on USA Network; and author of articles that have appeared in consumer and trade publications such as Ohio Magazine, Cincinnati Magazine, The Boston Phoenix and DanceUSA Journal. From 1997 to 2001 I served as executive director of Cincinnati Ballet, helping that company raise $10 million in capital and endowment. Today I work with leaders of organizations around the world, in both nonprofit and for-profit social ventures, seeking turnarounds and breakthroughs. John Zurick |
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