Entrepreneurs have to create their own luck, according to SA Recycling Chief Executive George Adams.
“Sometimes you got to take the risk in order to get lucky,” Adams told the audience at the 23rd annual Business Journal’s Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards on March 20.
Adams said he took several risks throughout his four decades-long career to grow SA Recycling from a small scrap company into a 3,500-employee business on track to making $4 billion in annual revenue this year.
The company is now among the five largest private companies based in Orange County.
Adams, who last year won an EIE award, was the keynote speaker at the Business Journal event at the Irvine Marriott, which drew a crowd of more than 300 people.
6 Honorees
The event’s six honorees, selected from nearly 100 nominees, were:
• Lawrence Armstrong, chairman of Irvine-based architecture firm Ware Malcomb.
• Taylor Shupe, founder and chief executive of San Clemente-based sock manufacturer FutureStitch Inc.
• John Drachman and Sean Rawson, co-founders of Newport Beach based real estate investor Waterford Property Co.
• Nate Raabe, co-founder and managing partner of San Juan Capistrano-based private equity firm RX3 Growth Partners.
• Mike Harrah, founder and president of Santa Ana-based real estate developer Caribou Industries Inc.
Upcoming Events
The Business Journal’s next event is the CFO of the Year Awards on May 9, where the master of ceremonies will be Murray Rudin, managing director of Irvine’s RLH Equity Partners.
The Family-Owned Business Awards on May 30 will feature Newport Beach restauranteur Ron Salisbury, owner of El Cholo restaurants, The Cannery and Louie’s by the Bay.
