PPB March 2018

64 | MARCH 2018 | THINK Chr i s S i nc l a i r and Shaun L i ch t enbe r ge r S haun Lichtenberger and Chris Sinclair are a package deal. Whenever they’re approached for an interview, they insist on doing it together, just like almost everything they do. Both raised in farming families, Lichtenberger grew up in Fort Erie, Ontario, on 90 acres that, before his time, was Lichtenberger’s Dairy. Sinclair jokes that Lichtenberger was a “city farm boy,” unlike himself, who grew up on a working farm in Owen Sound, Ontario. From an early age, both learned the power of a strong work ethic. “My parents got me working at a hardware store when I was 13 or 14 years old. Since then, I’ve always had multiple jobs,” says Lichtenberger. Similarly, Sinclair grew up working long hours at a golf shop. “I learned to work hard on the farm,” he says. “You don’t last without work ethic. And the more I worked at the golf shop, the more I didn’t have to work on the farm,” he laughs. Lichtenberger and Sinclair both pursuedmarketing degrees early on in their careers. They continued on their parallel track, graduating fromDale Carnegie and then practicing leadership training, which was an important career influence on bothmen. They first met as coworkers in amarketing firmand hit it off from there. “Working together as colleagues, we became friends,” says Lichtenberger. “Our sense of humor was always similar, we were both having success at a young age and we learned to trust each other early on. It was an easy decision for us to join forces.” From their shared experience at their employer, they were inspired to create a company based on what not to do. Fueled with high expectations, they worked constantly. Lichtenberger explains, “Our vision was, if we work like crazy, then the people we bring on will hopefully do the same. And in doing that, it made it easier for people to see who we really are. It bled into everyone else and was the foundation of our culture.” Sinclair adds, “Once we figured out who we were, we tried to go against the grain, including our marketing and our process. The Facilisgroup community was big for us early on. In addition to their technology platform, one of the best things has been the access to over 100 partners and like-minded people. If anything, we’ve taken the best of what we learned from our mentors and peers, and then put that formula together to find what makes sense for us.” The pair established distributor Brand Blvd in St. Catharines, Shaun Lichtenberger and Chris Sinclair built distributor Brand Blvd with a potent combination of work ethic and levity. by Terry Ramsay Work Hard, Play Hard Sinclair and Lichtenberger share a similar drive and sense of humor. "Our vision was, if we work like crazy, then the people we bring onwill hopefully do the same." —Shaun Lichtenberger