Success Before Passion: The Path to Defining the Work of Your Life with Dan Snyder

Dan Snyder is the co-founder and CEO of Lower, a multi-channel fintech brand focused on helping more people achieve wealth through homeownership. Dan was named the number four CEO by Glassdoor in 2021, and in other exciting local news, Lower recently became the naming rights partner for the Columbus Crew’s new stadium, Lower.com Field.

Dan is passionate about supporting the growth of his local community and gives back through the Young Presidents Organization, the New Albany Foundation, Junior Achievement, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Healthy Homes. Dan and his wife have two children and call the Columbus suburb of New Albany home.

We start, like we always do, at the beginning, where Dan started working hard at a very young age. He attributed this to the pressure of his younger brother, who was naturally excelling at a young age. Not wanting to be shown up by his little brother for the rest of his life. He began working with his mom, helping her close mortgages at the ripe old age of 15.

His parents offered just the right amount of pressure. They didn’t force him to do anything, but they did model a good worth ethic and gave him the space to figure out what he liked and was good at – which, admittedly, wasn’t easy to do.

After working at Wells Fargo, Dan hit a block. The only way to move up would be to relocate, and he wanted to stay in Ohio. He was drawn to something more entrepreneurial, so he began working for a lesser known bank that gave him much more control over how he operated.

Eventually, after a few years of successfully growing that banking division, Dan and his coworker made the decision to go off on their own and found Lower in 2018. It’s his dream job, and he’s never been more excited about where he’s at. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with it’s own set of challenges. Tune in to hear his story.

What Brett asks:

• [02:04] What was your early childhood upbringing like?
• [04:50] What were you like as a kid before you started closing mortgages for your mom?
• [06:54] Do you think you are naturally driven or did it come from other factors?
• [10:06] Why did you start working with your mom?
• [16:03] What prevented you from going to law school?
• [23:44] What was it about entrepreneurship that was appealing to you?
• [29:42] How did you transition into Lower?
• [34:07] Where are you now?
• [42:16] How do you deal with new challenges as they come up?
• [49:14] Where do you see things going in the future?

Lessons for intentional living:

• Part of Dan’s story is the struggle to find out what he was good at and what he enjoyed doing – two things that, in his mind, are intrinsically linked. It takes a certain amount of skill at something to really become passionate about it. That doesn’t mean you can’t become passionate about anything, but it’s hard to feel that level of investment without hitting that talent threshold.
• When things get hard, Dan goes back to what he’s most passionate about – in his case, that’s developing people. You’re not always going to love the work you’re doing, and things won’t always be easy. In fact, if you take the road of entrepreneurship, they rarely will. But there’s a reason you chose that path, and if you can focus on what that is, it will make everything else easier.

Resources:

• lower.com
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/snyderdan