On Thursday, April 3, Aquinas welcomed back alumnus Hugh Ingalls ’14 for our annual Fireside Chat Series. In a warm conversation with former President Alicia Córdoba, Hugh traced his path from student to business owner, sharing how his time at Aquinas prepared him to found his company, Ingalls Pictures. He spoke about what brought him to campus, the lessons and skills that stuck with him, and how those experiences shaped his business and personal decisions.
Hugh recalled his mom sharing an article about a small Catholic private school in Grand Rapids with a Sustainable Business program, listed among other programs at schools like Yale University. His interest in Aquinas piqued seeing such a cutting-edge program so close to his home, and he knew he wanted to visit. When recounting his campus tour, he fondly remembered the classes he observed and expressed how he felt welcomed and wanted here.
On that tour, “we got to sit in on what ended up being some of the same courses that I had throughout my time,” he shared. He remembered thinking, “I'm already part of this. I'm already learning. This is my home,” Hugh felt what many Aquinas students feel after taking that first walk through campus, that this is their home.
Influences of Aquinas throughout His Career
Hugh's experiences and skills from Aquinas prepared him well for his career as an entrepreneur. When considering plans for his company, he thought, “Okay, what does this business look like 100 years from now? Because that’s the type of conversations we were having in our classrooms. Even if it was sustainable energy systems, we were thinking, what do the next 30, 50, 100 years look like?” Hugh advised that, while making decisions for the short-term effects was necessary, they had to think about the eventual succession planning and hammer out what those dynamics looked like today. He believes Aquinas helped him continue to look longer term, which is crucial in a world that is constantly advancing and progressing.
In Hugh’s time at Aquinas, he completed an independent study with Professor Matthew Tueth from the Sustainable Business department. Tueth challenged Hugh to read a variety of books and tie the author’s intentions to his real life, encouraging critical thinking. “How do I actually apply this?” Hugh remembers wondering. “If I’m just reading stories about very successful businesses, how do I apply them to my life?” Those books, combined with Tueth's insightful test questions, challenge Hugh to develop the transferable skills and creativity he would need to develop his company's long-term strategy. Those questions caused Hugh not to rely on simple memorization, but instead on the critical brainstorming that gave him the experience needed to start his own company. Hugh shared that their company, Ingalls Pictures, is in the business of telling stories. They have to find a way to marry the business and creative side every single day.
In any business, whether it be a startup, higher education, or a corporation, you look at core values. Hugh shared that Aquinas’ Dominican Pillars of Prayer, Study, Community, and Service are core values, explaining that “core values represent a way to understand how to behave. When you reinforce those you know every day, you start to get cohesiveness, and that’s when magic happens.” Hugh recalled seeing the Dominican Pillars reinforced and printed around campus as an 18 to 22-year-old, and it helped Hugh and his brother to create their own core values as a company. “We’re really about respecting all people, continuous improvement, and client and audience return on investment,” said Hugh. “Those very basic, tangible things are how you know our team and how we build our business. Those three legs you could probably trace back to Dominican pillars in some way, shape, or form.”
Becoming an Entrepreneur
Many assume that becoming an entrepreneur means increased freedom. Even so, Hugh has a different perspective. He clarified that being an entrepreneur is actually the ultimate responsibility, rather than freedom. “You're really just choosing the highest level of responsibility in that you know you have to show up every single day and be on your game, because you're taking care of people, your clients, your team, and all the various stakeholders.”
His first entrepreneurial experience was starting the Aquinas College Hockey program. Hugh’s Management Professor, Ron Visscher, took Hugh under his wing as a freshman and encouraged him to attend a business pitch competition. Hugh presented his idea for a hockey program, and Visscher could clearly see his passion. Hugh said, “That just shows the power of the faculty here, because his ability to see something and bring that out and challenge me was the foundation for our company. My brother came in and did some recruiting videos for us. And so, that was the first time we worked together and literally set the stage for our company. And that was all from Aquinas being open to hearing students and hearing their ideas.”
To get the Hockey Program off the ground, Hugh needed a wide net of support. For every supporter they received, there was a naysayer giving reasons it won’t work. “I think we found a good balance of 50% of people that said there’s no way this is going to happen and 50% that said yes, how can I help?” The people who gave their time and mentorship made all the difference. The people who listened, even when they truly did not have to, helped us actualize our dream for a hockey program and, eventually, for building a business.
Finding Direction and Industry Changes
How can you connect all the moving pieces when building something new? Hugh shared his thoughts on putting the pieces together in community with others to stay focused and connected. “There’s an amazing book called “Who Not How” that’s really been influential. It all comes down to people. And not forgetting that there are all these distractions, barriers, or phones that just continuously throw up barriers between all of us. Yes, we're connected, but doing what we're doing here is so important and becoming more and more important as the world changes.”
Hugh explains that, at Aquinas, the focus was on the “who,” when so often it’s about the “what” and “how.” Hugh shared he was blessed to have a strong support system from his family growing up and his amazing wife now. That need for support and a strong network is a crucial factor in a successful business. When making hiring decisions, Hugh shared that, while they always review their skills, it can also be beneficial to see what network they have. Who do you know? Who’s in your bubble that can help the company continue to grow?
Hugh spoke about the rapidly changing video production industry and the challenges that come with balancing the moving parts of a growing company while staying focused and energized. “It’s going to come back to the story,” he said. Sometimes, his team gets lost in new technology and camera equipment; when that happens, Hugh gives them the following reminder: “At the end of day, we're just telling a story. How do we tell it in the best, most effective way possible?” Getting back to the mission and vision of what you’re doing can remind you why you’re doing it in the first place. Hugh feels that when you find something to energize you in the morning, during the day, and that still provides energy when you come home to your family, that’s a true passion.
The Fireside Chat audience had a great question for Hugh: “What do I do if I don’t know what I’m passionate about?” Hugh acknowledged the difficulty in such a position, but advised starting with reflecting on your lived experience and evaluating what gives you energy. “It’s becoming harder and harder to recognize those things because we are inundated with stimuli all the time,” said Hugh. “These things that are passions are actually playing out in our own minds, but there’s just so much going on. How am I shining the spotlight? And maybe it’s just a mindset shift, maybe I’m actually passionate about this thing, but I haven’t even told myself I am.” Hugh asked the crowd to consider what they show up on time for, every time. He explains that considering what you value enough to make a conscious effort to prioritize can help identify where that passion may lie. Hugh challenged his audience to consider the following questions when searching for a passion: “What are those conversations that you continue to have? What am I talking to my friends about? If someone asks how work was today, what do I say?”
Advice for Students and Young Alumni
When asked to share advice with students and other young alumni, Hugh expressed that moments of reflection are essential. To get into the right mindset, it helps to turn off your phone and be truly present. “As we continue to grow our business,” he explains, “taking time for stillness, taking time for the bike ride, the walk,” those things are necessary. “For example, just today, I biked to a meeting as opposed to driving. My mind's thinking totally differently.” The competitive advantage for all those graduating soon or already graduated is to separate from devices when you can and be comfortable with sitting in the silence, letting your mind work and take you where you want to go.
Launching things from scratch is difficult. Hugh shared, “When we first started, we were essentially married to the business, and it consumed every waking hour. As things developed, we started to build a team. When you start a business, you’re responsible for everything. In order to get that balance back, you have to really reflect on what you like to do and the things that are sucking your energy.” Once you can rely on the team to support and take some of the things that suck energy, you are closer to reaching harmony. “How do we harmonize it? For me, I don’t necessarily have that answer yet, but there will be an email or a phone call that comes in between 6 or 7 p.m. during dinner, and—for the dinner to be enjoyable—I do need to take that. And then I can come back to dinner and come back fully present.”
When asked what he would tell his 18-year-old self, Hugh shared a simple but powerful message: “It’s gonna be okay.” Hugh would tell his younger self that even through the stress and anxiety of being in a new place and forming new relationships, everything would be okay. Hugh would tell himself to embrace community and mentorship opportunities that present themselves. If someone is taking an interest in helping you professionally, listen.