Balance is a challenge because entrepreneurship essentially involves putting in hours of work day in and day out, including skipping holidays. One thing that has helped me is that I get to define my holidays. I don’t take public holidays. My priority is that when I’m with my family, I’m fully present — completely immersed in family matters. So, when I’m back at work, I can give 100% to my job. I don’t do things half-baked.
I’m looking for a SWAT team rather than an Army. I’m always averse to forming large teams. Big teams require managers, tools, KPIs, and all the other elements that drive up overhead costs. SWAT teams manage themselves, are averse to having managers overseeing teams, and are lean, working with a few tools and moving quickly.
Great leaders form great teams. An effective team fights to achieve a purpose. That purpose is clearly understood by everyone, and each member is there to play a distinct role. Each role is clearly defined and offers ample room for each team member to exert their authority and creativity.
Habits that help me greatly include praying, skipping lunch, journaling, and waking up super early.
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When I was 16 (way before the internet) I founded a travel-partner agency to connect people from different backgrounds seeking travel companions. After a year, I had to close the agency due to a lack of customers and the confusion some callers had regarding the nature of the “service.” Despite this setback, I gained invaluable insights into sales, communication and people’s needs, solidifying my desire to run a business that helps people.
After graduating, I worked for an extremely well-paying automotive company. But I always had the feeling that there was more out there. So I quit and went into research with the aim of becoming a founder.
There are no overnight miracles, it's very hard work: both physically and emotionally. Requires resilience, grit, strategic approach and grind.
One of our core values is experimentation. Rather than get stuck in arguing about what solution may best solve a problem or play to our ego, we focus on the smallest step we could possibly take to learn whether that’s true. It moves our minds away from thinking too big without sweating the small stuff and from getting stuck in discussions rather than actually doing something to understand the possible solutions better.