What do you wish you had known 10 years ago?
Literally that it's going to take 10 years to build a truly successful business! When we started we thought we were ‘in it’ for 2-3 years and then would be able to retire by the pool. Overnight success is a myth.
What personal habit or behavior helped you accelerate your personal growth?
Reflecting on my mistakes or missteps - talking about them, reading and learning new strategies. If you are prepared to accept you are fallible, and model change, you will have a more resilient team when things get tough.
What motivated you to become an entrepreneur?
To turn a successful product into a successful business and company. Everything flowed from customers using and loving our product. We want to achieve financial freedom by building our own business.
What should leaders understand about their own role and responsibility?
Leadership is about showing the way for others to thrive - taking responsibility and accountability when things are going wrong, giving the team the credit when everything goes well.
If you bring ‘ego’ into leadership and make it about you, then you are building a cult, not a business.
What's a skill that we should pay more attention to in the workplace?
Decision making. It’s often mistaken for ‘opinions’ or ‘feedback’ or ‘collaboration’ but try to encourage your team to make good decisions (i.e. not just a mishmash of compromises).
What do you do to maintain balance in your life?
I am pretty ruthless about notifications on all my devices turned off - which means I am responding in ‘real time’ when I’m looking or checking, but I wont be interrupted if I focussed on something else. I think you have to be a good compartmentalizer generally - good boundaries!
What books do you recommend the most?
"Radical Candor", "Turn the Ship Around," and "Traction."
What’s an important belief / a guiding principle that informs the way you build and run your business?
Define your values (‘culture deck’) and reinforce it often - create rituals and statements that sum up your values and remind everyone why they are important. If people understand and trust how / why you run your business they are going to stay motivated.
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Here’s More, From Other Founders Around the World
When times are tough, who or what is an anchor for you?
My co-founders are my anchor in work-related topics. Having an environment where failure is welcomed with a helping hand and where weakness is valued as openness, once you are down those people will drag you up.
What's a mistake that you're happy you've made?
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.
What motivated you to become an entrepreneur?
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.
What should leaders understand about their own role and responsibility?
There are no overnight miracles, it's very hard work: both physically and emotionally. Requires resilience, grit, strategic approach and grind.