Newtown Square resident Michael Rouse credits his successful business headquartered in Bryn Mawr to a teen project and good mentors, writes Jane Von Bergen for Philadelphia Inquirer.

Rouse is CEO of ESF, the company that operates 63 education and sports camps in 17 locations. He first got a taste for business in 1982 when his father told him to find a way to earn the $3,200 he needed to play in the tennis nationals.

He partnered up with his brother, and used his tennis talents to organize a two-week tennis camp at The Haverford School they were both attending. This laid the foundation for ESF, which now employs more than 1,600 people each summer.

“We knew it really needed to be well-orchestrated,” said Rouse. “We also knew that if we screwed up, we were in big trouble, not only from my parents, but also from the school and the campers’ parents.”

Rouse also explained that a lot of his success has come from the mentors he’s had throughout his career. These include well-known names such as Jack Welch, Larry Bossidy, the former chief executive of Allied Signal, and Martin Steele, a three-star Marine Corps general.

Read the entire interview in the Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.