What quote or saying has stuck with you?
"Love the problem, not the solution." - Too often, we become enamored with our ideas and solutions, losing sight of the user's problem. Always return to the user - engage, understand, and address their pain points.
What's your secret sauce for building a great team?
Empower people with purpose and the right amount of freedom to pursue a meaningful mission. Support them on their way. Everything else is a bonus. Why? Smart individuals thrive on challenges and aspire to contribute to something greater than themselves. The more responsibility they hold, the more dedicated they become.
What should leaders understand about their own role and responsibility?
Trust is foundational. Onboard the right people, have trust in their skills to do the right things. Align them with the mission & support them on their journey. As you lead more people, operational task is not your job anymore. Learn to delegate early.
What motivates you to work as a leader / entrepreneur?
I love solving problems. Seeing people use my solutions, saving significant time with a sparkle in their eyes, is my life's elixir.
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Here’s More, From Other Founders Around the World
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.
What’s an important guiding principle that informs the way you build and run your business?
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.