The Risk Advantage

As an entrepreneur and racecar driver, Tom Panaggio has learned that you cannot avoid risk if you want to be a winner.

In The Risk Advantage, Panaggio tells the story of how he and his business partners built two thriving companies: Direct Mail Express (which now employs over 400 people and is a leading direct marketing company) and Response Mail Express (which was eventually sold to an equity fund, Huron Capital Partners). With The Risk Advantage he aims to help entrepreneurs face the many situations, predicaments, and crises they’ll encounter during their life, and to help formulate their leadership style and business strategy.

When the right opportunities presented themselves, writes Panaggio, he and his business partners were willing to embrace the risk because they knew that it was the only way to get themselves in a position to win. And once in the lead they focused not on what was behind them, but what lay ahead.

The Risk Advantage is a story about an entrepreneurial journey that explores the relationship between opportunity and risk, two important forces that are necessary for success. If you have the courage to embark on your own entrepreneurial journey, you will need a unique advantage to succeed in such a competitive and unforgiving environment. You must have an edge. The unexpected edge for entrepreneurial success starts with identifying a worthy risk, and then having the courage to take it. In his book, Panaggio identifies those risks based on the experiences of his own journey.

Opportunities are always there for you to grab. If you want to realize a dream, accomplish a daunting goal, or simply start your own business, you must be willing to embrace risk. Learning the lessons of The Risk Advantage is an important first step on that journey.

About the Author
Tom has enjoyed a thirty-year entrepreneurial career as cofounder of two successful direct marketing companies. As a result, he can give a true perspective on starting and running a small business. His practical approach to business concepts and leadership is grounded in the belief that success is the result of a commitment to embracing risk as a way to ensure opportunity.

In 1983 he cofounded Direct Mail Express (DME) in Daytona Beach, Florida, with his siblings Mike and Kathy. DME has always been on the leading edge of marketing technology and is still recognized as an industry leader in personalized digital marketing.

As CEO of spin-off RME in Tampa, Florida, Tom headed a company that created the most effective lead-generation program in the financial services industry. RME revolutionized financial services marketing with its Seminar Success program, a marketing system that has created billions in sales for their clients.

Originally from Rochester, New York, and a 1980 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, Tom has always been involved in athletic competition. With his father, Mauro, being a successful basketball coach, that game has always played an important role in Tom's development. He was also a member of the St. Bonaventure varsity soccer team.

Tom was introduced to the idea of embracing risk as a young commodities broker in the highly speculative world of futures trading. Before packing his belongings and relocating to Florida, he worked a season in minor league professional basketball where he learned the value of maximizing resources and being able to take on multiple roles within an organization.

In Daytona Beach, Tom was introduced to sports car racing while attending an event at the Daytona International Speedway. He was immediately drawn to the excitement and competitive nature of car racing and obtained his racing license. Even while pursuing this new passion his entrepreneurial instincts played a role. He recognized a unique opportunity and started a company that rented race cars to those who wanted to race but lacked the skills and time to prepare and maintain their own car. He has had the privilege of participating in two of the great sports car races in the world--the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring--as well as the Sports Car Club of America's national championships.

Today Tom lives in Tampa with his wife, Shemi. When he's not speaking or advising entrepreneurs and small businesses, he's spending time with his family--his three daughters, Ashley, Christine, and Elizabeth, are all pursuing their college degrees--or he's out on a racetrack.