Meet David Schwartz: Publisher

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Schwartz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, alright, let’s jump in with a deep one – what’s you’re definition for success?
To me success is happiness, supported by business but defined by a well-balanced, joyful life with plenty of love. I love my kids so much, I love my wife, and I love the little world we inhabit. My business has been a big part of my life, and I do tend to stress over it too much. But ultimately it’s not what defines whether my life is “successful.” What defines that is the qualify of my relationships, my ability to provide for my family, being a good dad, being proud of my kids and seeing them succeed too — which means seeing them happy.

What should our readers know about your business?
I’ve been in the specialized publishing industry for 37 years, starting as a reporter for a subscription-based healthcare newsletter company. I learned a lot over a 12-year stint there, ultimately becoming vice president of the company. Things got very corporate, and with a partner’s funding I struck out on my own in 1994, launching my first company National Health Information LLC. It was successful from day 1, providing high-quality information to various niches within the healthcare industry. 12 years later I sold the company, consulted for awhile, then in 2007 with another partner started 2Market Information, my current company. I bought out the partner after a few years, and have been running the business ever since. Again focusing on niche information, in this case targeting the field of technology transfer (the commercialization of university research discoveries), 2MI is run out of a little office in my home and has been completely virtual from the day it started. The company provides publications, webinars, and other information products for these very important but little-known professionals, whose job it is to help researchers and universities bring their innovations from the laboratory to the commercial marketplace, typically through licensing or start-ups. Easy? No, not easy, and I’ve been through many ups and downs. I can get really freaked out and depressed when things aren’t working well, and sometimes it takes a lot of faith to keep my head up. But me and my little, wonderful team always work our way through these dips. The best advice I ever got was from my former partner, Dr. Leslie Norins, who at one of my lowest point told me “Just act.” The biggest enemy in crisis is inaction, and doing something every day to make things work better — even little things, even if they don’t always work — is far better than being paralyzed by fear or worry. Inaction is the enemy, and perfection is the enemy of the good enough.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Little 5 Points and East Atlanta are my favorite neighborhoods for visiting, people watching, eating, and drinking. I go for character and a little grunge. The Yacht Club is a fave, If live music were an option I’d go to 529 or The Earl, maybe Eddie’s Attic, or if a good national act was playing at The Fox or the Variety Playhouse, that would be nice to do. I’d take them to Piedmont Park and walk the Beltline, hit some good bars like Midway, Bantam Pub and Argosy, have a beer at The Brick Store, play some pool at Twains. Late night after some karaoke at Mary’s we’d go the the Clermont Lounge to close the night, then after-hours munchies at The Majestic. Rinse and repeat. Throw in dinner at Folk Art on Highland, more beer at Moe’s and Joe’s, some Fat Matt’s BBQ, and a lot of hang time on my back porch and I think we’d both be pretty happy.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout goes to my family — my wife Nicky, my three kids, three step-kids, my brothers and sister, and my parents (God rest their souls). Without their love and support, I would be a much poorer human, and I likely would be living a very different and much less fulfilling life. Family has always been my anchor, and it continues to guide me and give me so much — love, pride, counsel, purpose, understanding, and a grounding in the appreciation of life.

Website: www.techtransfercentral.com