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My daughter, Rachel, is leaving for
camp soon, and I'm worried about
what might happen there. I know
there is a lot of peer pressure, and
I don't want her to make the wrong
choices. At least at home her dad
and I are here when she needs
advice or just wants to talk. She
always tells us where she's going
and who else will be there, and we
know all of her friends. And if she
ever came home high or stayed out
until all hours, we would know
about it.
When she's at camp, I won't know
anything. I didn't worry when she
was younger, but now that she's a
teenager, I am nervous. I've heard
such frightening things lately, about
teens that are binge drinking, taking
pills, even cutting themselves. I
know the kids have less supervision
at camp when they're older, which I
understand, but it scares me.
We've talked with Rachel a lot
about making good choices and not
doing dangerous things just to fit
in, but I'm still worried about what
could happen when she's away. And
if she does refuse to go along with
everyone else, will she be bullied or
ostracized? I just want her to have
a good summer, to be happy and
stay safe.
My husband thinks I'm worrying
too much. He says she's a good kid
at home, so there's no reason to
think she'll be different at camp. But
her usual group of friends won't be
there this year, and I've heard some
worrisome things about some of the
teens that are going. Should I talk to
her? I could call the camp, but I don't
know what I'd say without sounding
like a hovering parent. Is there
someone else I can talk to?
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Alan S. Schwartz, vice chairman of Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn,
center, with Jeffrey, left, and Robert Wolfe.
Michigan Proud from page 8
the course of my life, as he did for many
others.
"It fills me with pride to see the Wolfe
family carrying on Jerry's wonderful
attributes. They are a terrific family.
CrowdRise and Moosejaw are two of
Michigan's most successful upstarts over
the last two decades. Jeffrey and Robert,
and their siblings, embody the brilliant
business savvy and ethical spirit that
make me proud, especially as I reflect
on the impact their father had on my
life:'
Behind the crazy fun of this Detroit
success story, you'll see founders that
prioritize family and hard work and,
yes, modesty, in a startup world that
often gravitates to hype, quick exits and
prestige.
Robert jokingly said, "The lucky part
about working with family is that we
can be as fun and mean to each other as
we'd like while we're at the office:' They
don't let the pingpong games distract
them from the larger vision and oppor-
tunity.
Jeffrey, described by Robert as the
smarter brother, remarked on the les-
sons of their father. "Jerry excelled in
many areas and was always there for
his family," he said. An early memory
includes his father attending his kinder-
garten play. "It was his honesty, humor
and healthy perspective on life that won
over hearts:'
When Jerry was diagnosed with can-
cer, Jeffrey returned from his highly
selective Wall Street training program to
be closer to his family in Detroit. Jeffrey
quickly found a calling in the rapidly
growing world of Moosejaw. He cur-
rently resides in San Diego and returns
to Detroit often.
Moosejaw's slogan, "Love the
Madness," and CrowdRises's slogan, "If
you don't give back no one will like you,"
reflects the humor of these successful
made-in-Detroit brands.
Alan S. Schwartz, vice chairman of
Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn,
has known Robert and Jeffrey since they
were boys. He said they have always
exhibited an independence of thinking
exemplified first in Moosejaw and now
again in CrowdRise. He describes them
as "two of the kindest, most honorable
people one could ever meet in the busi-
ness world" and that they have the best
sibling business relationship he's ever
seen.
David Jaffe has known Robert since
they were 5 and they became friendly
attending Camp Seagull in Charlevoix.
Jaffe co-founded Moosejaw with Robert
when they opened the first location in
Keego Harbor.
"Robert has a way of doing things
in a way that empowers employees to
run through walls for him," Jaffe said.
"While he travels often for work, he feels
strongly about being in Michigan and
growing his business out of Michigan:'
Although Jaffe left Moosejaw after a
few years, he and Robert remain best
friends.
Jaffe said that everyone in the
Wolfe family, including sisters Julie
Wolfe (Moosejaw) and Robin Wolfe
(CrowdRise), desire to excel in every-
thing they do.
"What's really cool," Jaffe said, "is
that CrowdRise was the pioneer in
the category of crowd-sourcing in the
charity world just as Moosejaw created
many industry innovations around
e-commerce. They developed an uncon-
ventional brand — in a really good
way — enabling them to connect with
their audiences in a non-corporate, non-
stodgy-yet-quirky way that reflects the
personalities of the founders:'
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Former Detroit businessman Murray
Pitt also knew Robert and Jeffrey
since the early days of Moosejaw. Pitt
describes them as great entrepreneurs.
"They were always the industrious,
committed, focused kids who would
out-work anyone else," he said. "I'm not
surprised at all to see their current suc-
cess and could always envision them
reaching whatever goals they set for
themselves:'
Merrill Lynch Managing Director
Dana Locniskar, based in Bloomfield
Hills, was a friend of Jerry Wolfe.
"Jeffrey interned with me during high
school and college; after college, he was
accepted by Merrill Lynch as one of 10
hires in the Junior Executive Training
Program," he said. "We still talk about
once a week. He embodies both his
father's brilliance and his mother's pas-
sion. I'd love to say that his success is a
surprise, but it was evident early on that
he was destined for great things:'
Wellspring Capital Partners Managing
Partner Joshua Cascade knew Robert
since their childhood in Detroit.
"In business, you often find highly
intelligent people with great ideas or
passionate people who get things done,"
he said. "But it is very rare to find a per-
son like Robert Wolfe, who has both the
vision and passion to create something
truly great:'
Honigman partner Joshua Opperer
has known Robert
for over two decades.
Over those years,
Opperer has been an
admirer, a friend and
a legal counsel to the
businesses.
"Robert and Jeffrey
are inventors," he
Joshua
said. "They take old
Opperer
ideas and re-imagine
them. In some ways,
Moosejaw is a retailer like any other. But
people come to Moosejaw — the stores
or the website — because they want to
be part of the Moosejaw experience. The
irreverent humor, the youthful energy,
the total experience all can be traced
back to Robert and Jeffrey's influence.
"They did the same thing at
CrowdRise," Opperer said. "They took
an old idea, giving to charity, and a
somewhat newer idea, giving through
the Internet, and then they created
something new, efficient and excit-
ing. CrowdRise, like Moosejaw, is about
something bigger than the service it
provides — people want to be part of
the CrowdRise experience.
"It's not just customers and clients
who want to be part of the Robert and
Jeffrey experience," Opperer said. "Their
employees stay and prosper in their
association, as do the friends that they
have been close to since childhood.
"Closest to them are their family, their
children (Robert coaches teams like he
attacks business!) and their sisters. They
approach business and life with a con-
tagious optimism and boundless energy
that makes the world better:'
❑