Getting to know: Bill Robbins, with WealthForge – Richmond.com

Title: Chief executive officer of WealthForge, a Henrico County-based firm that operates an online platform that helps businesses connect with investors to raise private-placement capital

Education: University of Richmond, bachelors degree in business administration, 1993, and masters in business administration, 1997

Career: Started as a trading specialist at Wheat First Securities in December 1993 and left as a senior vice president and regional sales manager in December 2005; joined Scott & Stringfellow in January 2006 as CEO of Clearview Correspondent Services and left in December 2015 as the president of BB&T Securities Services; joined WealthForge in December 2015 as chief revenue officer and became CEO in July 2016.

In which part of the metro area do you live? Henrico County

Best business decision: To leave the relative comfort and security of a large corporate employer for the growth opportunity at a startup.

Worst business decision: There are too many to list, but most of them relate to not trusting my instincts and then acting decisively to address an issue.

Mistake you learned the most from: Early in my sales career, I signed up a client (or two) who seemed like they would be lucrative relationships but turned out to be trouble for me and the people who had to directly support them. It helped me understand that demanding a high standard of quality is a business decision that pays off again and again.

What is the biggest challenge/opportunity in the next two to five years: Our challenge is to build on the early success that WealthForge has enjoyed into a scale business that makes a broader impact. A good friend once told me that business is about talent and I agree. We have a great team at WealthForge, so I believe that our biggest opportunity is to continue investing in our team so that we can continue to show the world that our value is growing.

First job after college: The Vanguard trading desk at Wheat First Securities.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently: A million little things, but no major things. Even the failures and frustrations along the way serve a purpose if you can learn from them and grow. I would probably take more care in maintaining some of the relationships I have formed over the course of my career that I have allowed to grow distant over time.

Book/movie that inspired you the most: Atlas Shrugged. I have read it several times at various stages of my life including high school, early in my career and again a few years ago. It began a process that continues today of reading, learning, and critical thinking about how to decide for myself what is important in life.

Favorite/least favorite subject in school: Least favorite was history; favorite was language. I studied Spanish and German.

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Getting to know: Bill Robbins, with WealthForge - Richmond.com