Claire James is the founder and CEO of the North Texas-based company Brava Team, a full-service brokerage firm that works as a manufacturer representative for customers trying to get their products into Costco.
It also has clients whose products are already in Costco but need support to continue scaling their product.
James credits her family’s background for the idea and opportunity to create Brava Team landing in her lap.
“We were in Issaquah, Washington, before we moved to Dallas, Texas, and I’ve got a bunch of family and friends that all worked at Costco and with Costco, and my husband had worked for a couple of different brokerage firms in the past and started his own company, which eventually led me into starting my own as well,” said James in an interview with The Dallas Express.
Brava Team’s mission was driven by the birth of James’ second son, who was born with Down Syndrome. James said his birth made her realize that she had a moral obligation to push sales only for products she would be comfortable giving to her children.
“It became our mission and moral obligation to represent companies that we, as typical Americans, could stand behind, and felt that if it was something that we would not feed our own family or… we wouldn’t want our kids to have, then we couldn’t represent those companies,” James said.
“It was a tough position when you work for somebody else that is pushing sales on something that you don’t necessarily believe in,” James continued. “So, it was kind of that awakening moment after having our son with special needs and realizing how much that plays a role in his life and kind of using our platform for the good and not just trying to make the next sale because we felt that could easily be done.”
As CEO of the company, James’ tasks are very hands-on and change daily. Still, she emphasized the importance of maintaining a work-life balance and that her four kids are always her top priority.
“We’ve kind of strategically scaled it slowly and meticulously so that we can still make it to every baseball practice and be their [if a] kid forgets to bring his lunch or something,” said James. “So that we can be as hands-on and have what everybody strives for, which is a work-life balance.”
James spent most of her childhood growing up in Oregon, where her family had a ranch she called a huge part of her upbringing. James also spent time living in different areas of the west coast, from the Lake Tahoe area to San Diego.
She credits her grandparents, and specifically her grandfather Alan, for leaving a significant mark on her life and shaping her into the person she is today.
“My grandfather was a self-made man, grew up on the Indian Reservation and put himself through law school and everything and built one of the largest barge and rail car manufacturers (Greenbrier) still in North America today,” James stated. “So, I would say he was definitely the biggest influence for me.”
James’ desire to be as influential a role model to her children as her grandfather was to her pushed her to overcome the fear of taking her first step toward creating Brava Team.
Taking the leap of faith to start the business is what James called the most significant challenge she has overcome as an entrepreneur.
“After kind of watching my girls as they grew up a little bit, I decided, you know, I want to not just talk the talk, I want to be able to show them and empower them that they can do anything that they set their mind to do,” James said.
A quote she lives by and tries to instill in her daughters to empower them is from John Wayne, who famously said: “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyways.”
“Really trying to instill that in our daughters,” James said. “Just trying to give them a good role model and show them that you can be a stay-at-home mom, or you can own a company.”
As for what advice she would give aspiring entrepreneurs considering taking the leap of faith and opening a business, James said she would say the same thing she does when parenting her children.
“I think it’s just really taking that leap of faith and not being afraid of failure, and if you do fail a million times, then just keep going because that’s the only thing you really can do,” she suggested. “I think that having grit and a purpose is kind of what keeps us all going… no matter what the struggle or circumstances, that’s the only thing you really can do.”
For business owners trying to improve their entrepreneurial skills, James suggests carefully choosing the people around them.
“I always tell my children, ‘You’re the average of the three people you associate yourself the most with,’ so I think that’s critical in our species,” said James. “Surrounding yourself with people that are not only going to build you up but also motivate you and kind of continue to help foster you to be the best version of yourself.”
In the end, James hopes to have left a legacy as a great philanthropist behind, saying she does not plan to leave any inheritance to her kids.
Her biggest future goal is to reach a point financially where she can give freely to support the causes she feels passionate about.
