Born in East Lansing, Michigan, Charles Stoddard grew up with banking in his blood. As a teenager, he worked as a teller in the bank his father founded. After earning degrees from Michigan State University and HBS, he held banking and finance positions in New York City and Los Angeles before returning home to work in the family bank and, ultimately, found his own — Grand Bank in Grand Rapid. Stoddard sold Grand Bank in 2002, and he has since launched Grand Angels, an investment group aiming to help local entrepreneurs.

After graduating from HBS, I took a commercial lending job with Citibank in New York City. It seemed natural. Banking was in my family’s heritage. My next move was unexpected. In the middle of a huge New York City snowstorm, I received an unsolicited offer to join a mutual fund company in Los Angeles. I flew out to LA in February, and just the warm climate alone was enough to make me say yes to the offer. I joined the company as assistant to the president. But when the president lost his job, mine disappeared, too.

Back in Michigan, my father had passed away, and my older brother became CEO of the bank. He offered me a job in Grand Rapids. I had always said I’d never be a part of the family bank in Michigan, but circumstances had changed radically. I felt I’d made it on my own and wasn’t being carried by my last name. So in 1973, I moved back to my home state. The lesson I learned is never say never.

Twelve years later, in 1985, a new CEO came in and consolidated all 26 separate banks under one charter. So all of a sudden 25 bank presidents, of which I was one, were out of a job. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I never would have started the Grand Bank otherwise.

Grand Bank wasn’t just a brand-new bank. It was clearly different from any other bank in Grand Rapids. It was a niche bank with only one office and no tellers; instead, it had client service officers who would call customers by their name. The other unique thing about Grand Bank was corporate tithing. Ten percent of our pretax profits were donated back to the community. Our second-largest shareholder was so enamored by this that he wanted me to advertise it. I absolutely refused. I always followed the theory that if someone else toots your horn, the noise travels twice as far.

Grand Bank was extremely profitable because I hired people who were smarter than I am, and I gave them independence. You still have to be there every day and monitor what’s going on, but I think people can develop their God-given skills when they’re not shackled by all sorts of bureaucracy.

I could have stayed on with the bank that acquired us in 2002, but I wouldn’t have been my own boss. At that point in my life, I didn’t want to report to someone else.

I don’t consider myself an entrepreneur, yet I started a bank and as well as a school for kids with learning disabilities, called Lake Michigan Academy. Starting a bank, while time-consuming, was much easier than starting a school, something I didn’t know anything about.

After leaving Grand Bank, I started Grand Angels to help local entrepreneurs. We’re here not only to write the checks but to mentor companies we invest in. Many entrepreneurs will tell you that they get more value out of advice than just receiving money. I advise people that running a business is going to be excruciating and exhilarating. To be successful, a person must have perseverance and a passion for the business.

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