One of my (many) problems with the glorified startup culture is the mindset of grow, grow, grow. Everyone seems to be focused growth. Traffic, signups, downloads, paying users,etc., If you’re not growing ____, then you’re failing as a business. While yes, this is a healthy mindset to have (the goal is always to grow your … Continue reading Stop chasing new customers if you’re neglecting your current ones
How I spoke at Harvard
Roughly 3 years ago I was invited to speak at Harvard Business School, Cornell, Upenn Wharton School of Business and Rutgers university despite having 0 experience, 0 credibility, and knowing 0 people there. How did I do it? It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. To back up and give … Continue reading How I spoke at Harvard
Flip Burgers
The book “Both Sides of the Table”, by Mark Suster has a great entrepreneurial concept that I’d like to share. He calls it “Flipping Burgers”. If you want to start a burger restaurant, you first need to learn how to cook the burgers. Flip burgers = do the grunt work yourself and master the granular … Continue reading Flip Burgers
Tell people you’re doing research
...instead of pitching your business You had it. That “Aha” Moment. The moment where the lightbulb went off and you’re excited about your next potential business opportunity. What to do next? Immediately start building it? Start researching the costs and feasibility? Quit your job and start pitching people for money? In my opinion, whenever you … Continue reading Tell people you’re doing research
Why I moved on from BrainGain
Around 4 years ago I started my first company, BrainGain. A company that helped people find jobs around the world. Jobs in Marketing, Sales, Design, Software Development, Data Science and more. I was more or less a recruiter. I found companies that gave me a job description, and then I recruited foreigners and expats from … Continue reading Why I moved on from BrainGain
Validate your ideas before you build
The difference between SOME validation vs. ENOUGH validation Creating a business the 2nd time around, after fucking up my first one, has been an interesting experience. I recently shut down the recruitment arm of my business. Was tired of long sales cycles and uncertainty, so I put a stop to it. Then I sat on … Continue reading Validate your ideas before you build
If your work is a “grind”, you’re doing something wrong
One of the most common words that I hear used to describe work is the word “grind”. If getting through your day is a “Grind” that sounds like a miserable way to live. If your work is a “grind”, you’re doing something wrong. Grind implies friction. Resistance. Pushing a rock uphill, or swimming upstream. Grinding … Continue reading If your work is a “grind”, you’re doing something wrong
When Work Ethic Works Against You
The downsides of having a strong work ethic, and how it can slow you down… In today’s world, being busy is a looked at as a good thing. In order to be successful you must work hard, bust your ass, and get shit done. If you’re not busy, you’re looked at as lazy or unmotivated. Around … Continue reading When Work Ethic Works Against You
Be Grateful For Your Problems
Why I love when things go wrong... I spent the last 6 months in Rio De Janeiro Brazil in a co-living/working space with other entrepreneurs/digital nomads. It’s my first time working side by side with other people who aren’t directly involved in my own business. It was a fascinating experience to see how, despite having … Continue reading Be Grateful For Your Problems
Every Resource I know for Finding Work Abroad
Nonprofits, tech, internships, VC firms and more…. For the last 3 years I have been running BrainGain.co, a recruitment agency helping people to discover international work opportunities. Throughout that time I’ve discovered a lot of resources for finding jobs abroad. Rather than hoarding them to myself I have decided to share the wealth with the … Continue reading Every Resource I know for Finding Work Abroad