---
title: "Authority Magazine: Chris DeJong Shares 5 Things He Wishes Someone Told Him Before He Became a Founder"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/e4380896-d95a-4064-84aa-aeeeee4d85d5
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/authority-magazine-chris-dejong-shares-5-things-he-wishes-someone-told-him-before-he-became-a-founder-2716583
category: "Swim"
industry: "Education & Childcare"
segment: "Swim"
published: 2021-09-07T12:07:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:13:39.892Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/1a929459b01b534d892d42fdc1f427a02570.jpg
---

# Authority Magazine: Chris DeJong Shares 5 Things He Wishes Someone Told Him Before He Became a Founder

**TL;DR:** Chris DeJong, founder and president of Big Blue Swim School, shared 5 things he wishes someone told him before he became a founder in an interview with Authority Magazine. DeJong's journey as a competitive swimmer influenced his life as a founder, teaching him resilience and perseverance.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2021-09-07. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/authority-magazine-chris-dejong-shares-5-things-he-wishes-someone-told-him-before-he-became-a-founder-2716583).*

## Story

In a recent interview with Authority Magazine for the “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder” series, Big Blue Swim School founder and president Chris DeJong spoke about what he wished he knew prior to leading a company.

DeJong’s journey as a competitive swimmer began at eight years old, and he continued swimming all throughout high school, college, and post-college. He also competed in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic trials. DeJong decided to create Big Blue Swim School after he narrowly missed making the Olympic team by three-tenths of a second.

“The resilience and perseverance that I learned in swimming have been a huge piece of my life as a founder,” DeJong told Authority Magazine. “When you’re practicing any sport competitively, you set your mind on something and then have a singular focus until you achieve that goal.”

According to DeJong, starting a business is not much different. If a business is built on a strong foundation with a mission, long-term vision, and a set of core values, you can start to move toward set goals.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Education & Childcare (sector)
- entrepreneurship (topic)
- Big Blue Swim School (company)
- Chris DeJong (person)
- competitive swimming (topic)
- founder lessons (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/authority-magazine-chris-dejong-shares-5-things-he-wishes-someone-told-him-before-he-became-a-founder-2716583). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/e4380896-d95a-4064-84aa-aeeeee4d85d5).