Couples you should know

Brant Bukowsky
Co-founder of VA Mortgage Center.com
Jennifer K. Bukowsky
Owner, The Bukowsky Law Firm LLC (starting Oct. 1)
AGE: Brant: 34; Jen: 32
Years lived in mid-Missouri: Brant: 15; Jen: 13
Original hometown: Both from St. Louis (Brant: Oakville; Jen: Parkway West)
Education: Brant: Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from MU. Jen: Law, MU, 2006, J.D.; CPA, MU, 2001, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in accounting
Job Description: Brant: I am supposed to focus on marketing (specifically online marketing), but I mostly just stand back and get amazed by the people on our team who do a much better job than I could. Now I try to spend time recruiting even more great people to work with us. Jen: I represent clients who are facing criminal charges or traffic violations. I fight hard to get each client the best outcome so they can move forward with their lives.
Community Involvement: Brant: Board member of REDI, board member of Junior Achievement, passionate supporter of various local charities and active in fostering an entrepreneurial community/culture in mid-Missouri through hosting and participating in many local entrepreneurial events. Jen: Chamber of Commerce-Women’s Network, Governmental Affairs Committee; Women Lawyers Association of Mid-Missouri; Missouri Bar Criminal Code Revision Subcommittee; Boone County Bar Association, Criminal Law Committee; Boone County Republican Central Committee; Boone County Pachyderms, Political Education Committee, chair; League of Women Voters; Boone County Federated Republican Women
Professional Background: Brant: Besides the glamorous job of playing Chuck E. (and the not-so-glamorous job of cleaning tables) at Chuck E. Cheese’s and delivering pizza for Imo’s, I have never had a real job. Jen: This month I am leaving the Public Defender’s office after more than three years there. Prior to that, I was a clerk for Judge Russell at the Missouri Supreme Court for one year. During law school I did two summers as a summer associate for the Armstrong Teasdale law firm and a semester as a legislative law intern for Sen. Crowell at the Missouri Senate. Before law school I worked as a CPA on the audit side of BKD LLP.
A Columbia businessperson I admire and why: Brant: I greatly admire my brother and our CEO, Nate Long. In addition, I get to talk to a lot of local entrepreneurs. I learn from all of them, even ones who are starting out, but especially experienced entrepreneurs such as George Pfenenger, Greg Steinhoff, Jake and Jamie at the Ad Sheet and many others who are committed to their companies, the community and their families. Jen: Brant Bukowsky. We’ve been together more than 10 years, and he still amazes me.
Why I’m passionate about my job: Brant: I love being an entrepreneur, regardless of what business or industry it might be. But the best part of my job is the excitement of pursing a big goal with a great group of people while having fun doing it — and that is what I get to do daily. Jen: I believe in our Constitution.
If I weren’t doing this for a living, I would: Brant: Teach. Jen: Spend more time promoting moderation in politics.
Biggest career obstacle I’ve overcome and how: Brant: Being an entrepreneur naturally exposes you to a large number of obstacles. The sheer number of failures I have experienced has probably been the biggest challenge. Jen: I’ve made some tough career decisions. I left a big CPA firm to go to law school. During my clerkship after law school, I chose to turn down a big law firm job and instead apply to the Public Defender. And now I’ve decided to start a law firm in a tight market and tough economic climate. Each time I decide to go for it and change directions, I’ve worked hard to succeed on my new path rather than dwelling on whether I should have left the previous path.
A favorite recent project: Brant: Our company has been doing some exciting new projects (including starting realty and insurance companies), but other people have taken the lead on those projects, so I can’t take credit. However, I am helping plan an entrepreneur summit on Feb. 4 with Vicki Russell and REDI, and it should be exciting (visit www.mostartups.org for updates). Jen: The Bukowsky Law Firm LLC. I leased a space across from the courthouse, 810 E. Walnut St, starting on Oct. 1.
Family: Two studly boys. Blake is 3, and August (“Hurricane Gus”) is 1. Brant: My older brother and I have been partners in every business we have started. He is married to Tammy, and they have three kids whom we spend a lot of time with. My younger brother, Bryce, works at Shelter Insurance and has a great wife, Rebecca. Our parents are in St. Louis, and we get to see them every couple of weeks. Jen: My parents, Kevin and Kathleen Koboldt; and my three brothers, Dan, Tim, and Kevin; are in St. Louis. Dan works for Wash U on the Cancer Genome Project, and his wife, Chris, stays home with my niece. Tim just graduated MU Medical School and is doing his residency at Wash U (Barnes Hospital) in emergency medicine. His wife, Robyn, is a pediatric nurse at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Kevin is a sophomore at Parkway West and is a stand-out cross-country runner.
Tactics to balance work and family: Brant: I have gotten better at turning down new responsibilities outside of the family, which makes it easier to dedicate time to them. Plus, we have so much fun, it is hard to choose to do anything else. Jen: This is an ongoing struggle for me. I delegate as many household tasks as possible, I try to avoid bringing work home, and I don’t like to schedule consecutive evenings away from my kids.
What we do for fun: Brant: Tailgating, travel, triathlons and Tiger sports. Jen: We hang out with our neighbors. Brock and Tammy live next door, and we have other close friends in the neighborhood. Also, Brant and I go on date nights when we eat out and then stay at the restaurant playing cards and drinking wine.
Favorite place in Columbia: Brant: Any patio that serves beer on a nice day, especially The Deuce. Jen: Mizzou Arena, Sophia’s, Tellers, Ragtag, my house.
Accomplishment I’m most proud of: Brant: I feel fortunate to have been a part of building one of the best teams of (300+) people I have ever seen. They are a passionate, fun group that produces amazing results. Plus, they do a great number of things to help others in mid-Missouri as well the military community. They inspire me daily. (Suckering my wife into marrying me would be another.) Jen: My courtroom experience. I’ve handled more than 1,000 cases ranging from littering to murder in the first degree.
Most people don’t know that I: Brant: My brother and I started our first company with 75 cents. Every other business has grown from re-investing the money we made from that company (or other companies), and it is all traced back to that initial 75 cents in startup capital. Jen: I won first place in the mock trial competition in law school.