Creating something new and valuable out of something old and tired can be a real skill. For Mark Hauser, founder of Hauser Private Equity, building value in concepts, businesses, and ideas has literally been the skill that has defined his profession.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, OH, Hauser would go on to attend and graduate from St. Xavier Catholic School. A short time later, he would go on to earn his Bachelor of Business Administration at Miami University. Flash forward several decades and now Hauser is considered one of the most prominent names in private equity, but how did he get there?
Let’s explore the life and times of Mark Hauser as well as the role that innovation has played in his entrepreneurial ascent within the industry.
Anatomy of an Entrepreneur
As the head of one of the nation’s leading private equity firms, it can be hard to imagine Hauser doing much, if anything, else. But that doesn’t mean that Hauser was born into and placed directly atop a leadership position. Instead, Hauser first began his exploration of the working world with backbreaking work as a blacktopper for driveways in Cincinnati.
Throughout his early youth, Hauser would jump from job to job while angling toward his dream careers: police officer, teacher, or touring musician. While those never came to fruition, his drive to become better would lead him to a career in private equity.
After landing in the field, Hauser would quickly learn that his best skills were those built around developing relationships. Hauser says, “The best business relationships are those built on mutual respect and a shared vision.”
When working with people, in business, and life, Hauser understands that it is important to prioritize the other person involved in the transaction, interaction, or relationship. Hauser says that some of the best advice he has received in his career revolves around how to work with other people.
Hauser says, “Make it about the other person.”
Sharing his vision with the world has been instrumental in helping him to develop it in recent years. Hauser would acquire his small insurance firm in the early 90s before implementing his skills to nurture and develop it into the national risk advising firm, HAUSER.
To continue crafting Hauser into the firm it is today, Hauser has focused on curating his knowledge to properly educate himself for the industry. Hauser says that he turns to a combination of the WSJ and NYT alongside Buyouts and PE Professional Newsletters. Adding with a smile, Hauser states, “My kids keep me informed of anything and everything fun and entertaining.”
Before his work with Hauser Private Equity, Mark Hauser held the position of Vice President with Reynolds, DeWitt & Co for more than a decade, from 1985 until 1996. Hauser held the position for more than a decade after launching Hauser Private Equity.