250 Years of Business Wisdom in 21 Min | Powerful Advice Compilation

Don't give up, don't give up. Do whatever you can to be successful. That is, I think, the key factor for success as an entrepreneur. But go back to basics. And I think that's probably the theme of Humi, of how I've had success there. It's probably the theme of today, you know, and how I recruit. But, you know, I think we get lost. There's again, there's just so much. There's so many screens and data and dashboards and so many, like, tools to optimize your business. And that's great. A lot of those things could be massively helpful. But all of that doesn't matter unless you have a great product, a customer who loves your product or service, and a great relationship and a great business model. Like the actual basics of what are you doing? Is it. Are you delivering value to someone? Do they actually care? You have to stay positive. You got to stay plugged in and inspired. So the first piece of advice I give people is stop reading the headlines. Stay away from social media. It's all negative. It's all negative. You know, I don't think. Matan, I read yesterday that 6 million people in Toronto got home safely from driving on the 401. You know, I never hear that. I didn't hear anything about 6 million people not missing dinner last night. Like that they had food, right? Those are pretty incredible stats. You only hear about all the bad stuff, right? So get rid of that. Like just have a fast around media. It's just not good for you. Secondly is that I think you need to stay inspired. You know, I happen to like listening to podcasts. One of them I loved was how I built this with Guy Raj. I also love reading biographies. One of my favorite biographies is Shoe Dog by Richard Knight, the founder of Nike. Great book. Just like, wow, I could do that. Like, he just, he laid it all on the line, right? And find a mentor. Find, you know, we're living in a time where everybody's, like, doing it all by themselves or it's a lonely business out there. Especially if you're an entrepreneur. Find somebody who can, you know, who can help you to manage these types of things. But then you also have to pray, you know, Pray and realize, you know, like, a lot of it. You need a lot of help. What should a struggling entrepreneur do now because the world is hard? Well, the first thing I'll say is a bit of a Warren Buffett, right? The world's always hard. And is it any harder now than it was during COVID or during whatever crisis bit.com won in the aftermath and so on. I actually don't really think it is. It's just always hard to be an entrepreneur. So you know, there are many pieces of advice within that. And I would start by saying are they playing the right game? First of all, number two, if you are playing the pre product market fit startup game, have you thought through the perfect indistractible operating narrative? Because I think one thing that is different is that we have more pull from bullshit now daily with these phones and with performative entrepreneurship and with this guy says that he grew from 0 to 10 million in six months using clay as his SDR and all this kind of stuff, cutting all, all that out. And you and I know if we had a founder here that was building a software business and they were pre product market fit, in an hour we could tease out probably the three core things that founders should focus on and get to that narrative. Pre product market fit. There are two things that blow up a company. One is co founder breakups and two is no market need. And what I have found generally, and this is in deep tech, this is in software, this is in everything, is that people generally do the wrong things that are a complete waste of time, that are completely not moving the needle on the milestones to get to product market fit. So that would be a second thing I would say to entrepreneurs and then the third thing I would say be thoughtful about your mental game and actually be conscious about understanding a resilience framework that you can use that works for you, that counter or that balances the typical entrepreneurial advice, which is work a million hours a week and raise more money. Have it. There's more to it than that. And the word I use is well being. And how do you balance that a little bit? So those would be three thoughts. I mean it is tough, it's a, it's a tough environment. And I think, you know, there's, there's some takeaways from some of the stuff that I've already said, which is look at the macro factors, look at market timing and you know, if the time isn't right now, you know, manage accordingly. You can make some decisions that, that give you longer Runway to trying time, better times in the, in the market, for example. So I, I'd say, you know, because typically with entrepreneurs, they're starting out here and they're very quickly zooming down into okay, I'm going to deliver the product and then they've got their heads down for quite a while and you've Got to be able to lift your, your heads up, you know, so even, even somebody as flexible and wily as your average startup entrepreneur can get tunnel vision. So I think being patient with the market factors is one of them. A couple things. So trust your gut on whatever the situation is. I think in a lot of cases for entrepreneurs, and I struggle with this sometimes is kind of waiting and trying to make something perfect. So you're going to launch something, you want to wait for it to be perfect. And I think the advice is don't worry about things being perfect. Just start. Definitely just go for it and try and then you'll learn as you go. Because it's not going to be perfect on the first iteration and it may not even be the exact business on the first iteration. There are a lot of good examples out there of smart people who've done it before. So take lessons from others, but get in there, work hard and make sure you're offering value. Whether you're giving money, that and good advice and value from that in addition to that, or starting a company with a business offering that adds dramatic value to your customers. If you offer value, it's going to work out. Try to experiment more, especially with AI coming in the way that it is. We're going through that transition. So much is changing and is about to change. The way that you built a business five or 10 years ago is very different than the way that you build a business today. And I think this advice is probably mostly for the people on the venture scale path, but still probably is also true for, for building a small, profitable business as well, is think about how your space is changing. Think about, and please do experiment with AI and push yourself to use it more and think about where those opportunities are going to be. It's so hard to predict where they're going to be. And so the more you can be involved in that today and be at the leading edge of that today, you'll have more opportunity. I think one thing that I truly believe in is always show up authentically. I think that is at the core of everything. I think that like the energy somebody has, the way we show up, the confidence all those pieces really, really, really play into, you know, how your content is made and what that looks like. What if you're like not a good person though? If you're authentic, then nobody's gonna like. Well, I think you can always find authentic things to talk about and hopefully if you're not a good person, I'm not speaking about myself. Other people I know, I think Everyone has some good qualities that they can bring into what they do. And I think that was something that I had learned about two and a half business. I'd say that in business, it's all about shared values, okay? Building something that's unique, being creative, being authentic, doing your research, okay? If you focus on the money, it's not going to come. If you focus on deliverables, doing something that's different. You know, when I joked, I didn't joke. It wasn't a joke. When I said, honestly, I've been in therapy for perfectionism. My. My. My psychiatrist at the time convinced me, and I'm. I'm not going to tell you how much I spent on therapy, but let's say it's tens of thousands of dollars, that there's no such thing as the best. Everything in life can be improved upon. And I use the analogy that being the best isn't real. And the analogy is simply this. If you're standing, looking west and you're at an ocean, okay, where the ocean meets the sky, what's that called? That line there, what's that called? Horizon. The horizon. Well, have you ever touched the horizon? How do you know it exists? So that's being the best. So there's no such thing as being the best. And by the way, if you ever for a moment thought you were the best at something, I guarantee hubris would set in and your world will start falling apart. So the idea is on the road to being the best. It is a goal. Let's call it an elusive goal, but it's a goal. But on the road to being the best, be different. So what are you doing in life to differentiate yourself in business? How is that business different? You want it to be the best, but how is it different? How big is the market? Okay. And what I talked earlier about, is there a motor around it? What are your values? Write them down. Do a values exercise. Write down 15 values, and then what are your top five? And then who do you want to be partner with? Because no one does it alone. This is from Rakuten CEO. He's a single founder. He says something like, there's a rule of three and 10. When he grew from a single founder to three people, everything is broken in the company. He fixed that five, 10 people, everything was broken again. He fixed all that. And then 30 people and then 100 people. Each milestone, he has to fix that. And I have to testify, he's pretty much spot on. So because scaling from a two founder, three founder startup, or four founder startup, to hundreds of employees, thousands of employees. You have to be unrecognizable every two years, a few times. Right. So I think the best advice I have received, long way to say is have that growth, mindset and learn. Be a learning machine and just keep on learning. Because next year, if you don't learn fast enough, you'll be left behind by your fast growing company. But I think one of the advice, it's about focus, focus, very important. And it's not about what to do, it's what not to do. That's what I find, like in a business, especially in marketing, like the advice, what to do. We're always seeking for this advice, what to do, what to do, what to do. But do we really know what not to do and how to focus and how to save time. I even read some of the interesting articles about very famous entrepreneurs and one of the qualities they have, it's the ability to say no and focus on things that are important. Well, let's start with the basics. A day at a time, that would be number one advice. None of this happens overnight, and I don't want to give timeframes either because some people do it relatively quickly and some people don't, But a day at a time. The second thing is remember that you're bringing real value. If your product and service is out there, you've done something that, look at the stats, you're in the top 10th percentile of the world's population already, minus the wealth that's coming. You just gotta understand that you created a gift, you developed a gift that people need to be able to benefit from. It is your job to share that gift in the way that best helps those people. And if you're you, if you get that, there is no stopping you and you will do well. And I've been there personally. There's people that have had a way worse story than me and they've pulled through and so will you. Let's say just keep your head down. Activity leads to results. And that the work you do for today is not for today. It's really planting seeds for tomorrow. And so, you know, success favors those who take the long view. And if you can just put one step in front of the other, it's, you know, not to sound cheesy, but it's a marathon, not a sprint. And so every call you make, every email you send, every podcast you do, every post you make, it really just plants seeds. And so consistency is really important. And I always say we create our own busyness. You know, There were days where I would figure, forget. I'd go into the office and I'd forget my cell phone at home, and I go, oh, my God, I forgo my cell phone at home. But the truth was, nobody that I wanted to talk to was calling me. Like, as a salesperson, your job is to be calling the people that you want to talk to and sliding into their DMs or their phone calls. So we create our own busyness, and you're responsible for your own success. And so just plant the seeds today and water them, and success will follow. Well, it's a tough job, being an entrepreneur. I mean, they know that going into it, but you don't really know it until you actually do it. I would say, you know, first of all, remain connected to why you were doing this in the first place and remind yourself frequently, because presumably you are very passionate about making the decision to become an entrepreneur and, you know, solving a real problem or whatever it is that really drove you. When you're, you know, when you're. When you're struggling to meet payroll or whatever concerns you have, remind yourself as to the goal and the task and your mission from the start and why you were so passionate about it. A lot of entrepreneurs, one of the problems they have is letting go of things now because they were the person who did everything. They were the one that started. It was their idea. They have ownership. They're probably the biggest investor for a long time. It's difficult to trust somebody else with your baby, but you have to. I mean, you have to, to survive, which is part of the reason why you bring in great people. So, you know, you should always, as an entrepreneur, be trying to figure out how. How to not have to do your job anymore. So find someone else to do what you're doing. Move on to the next thing that will help grow the company. The most interesting thing, my grandmother, I was very close with my grandmother. I actually lived with my grandparents for time, and she was the only person I called every single week. When I was a kid. I didn't really talk to my parents as frequently, but my grandmother, I called every single week, no matter where in the world I was. And she would end every single conversation with, stay healthy, stay healthy. I was like, yeah, okay. Russian grandmother's like, barbershka, okay. Like, I'll be fine. Like, stay healthy. She's like, no, no, no. You can't do anything if you don't stay healthy. I'm like, 19 years old. Staying healthy is, like, the farthest thing from my mind but, you know, I've, over the years, and particularly more recently realized a. How critical it is to stay healthy. And it's not, I'm not just talking about physical health. I think I'm talking about mental state, mental health, I'm talking about spiritual health, talking about relational health. You know, being able to align the different dimensions of one's world, actually, it changes the way you show up. It changes the way you show up with a colleague, with a client, the business partner, changes the way that you get excited about what you do. It changes the sense of alignment that you feel. So, yeah, everybody's going to index on, talk about management style and capital allocation and value creation and all that stuff. But none of that could happen unless stay healthy. And after all these years, my grandmother's advice that is finally starting to make its way through. And candidly, I think it's the best advice I ever got. Get yourself the right team. I mean, you can't do everything on your own. So like your co founder, I've seen a number of founders, they're like, I'm just going at it alone. It's like, co founder is hugely helpful. You can't do everything on your own. You're not a master of all that stuff. So find somebody that covers your blind spots, I would say is a good one. Raising capital, like, not for everybody. Right. And with AI, like, you may not need to. Right. You can accomplish a lot more bootstrapping your business today than you could three years ago. So, you know, I'd assess that decision wisely. It's, it's more, you know, do you want to build a comfortable business or you. That, that services you and the needs that you have? And whether it's a. It could be a profit for purpose, motivation, or whatever it is. Right. Does it solve those things or do you want to build, do you want to scale rapidly and have this ma. You know? Right. So it sort of, again, depends what you're after and whether you go for venture financing, being capital efficient and scrappy always. And learn, like, learn, learn, learn continuously. Whether it's podcasts, reading, going out, networking, meeting people, there's endless work to do in your, whatever business you're building. But when you go out into the world, like I find, you always learn something and grow. And so, you know, make sure that, that you're making that time for, for yourself. As an entrepreneur, you have to have a lot of faith because, you know, if you're an employee, every two weeks you get a paycheck, you know, and you hope that you'll. Your boss is good and that your company will stay good. And you. But, you know, when you're working for yourself, like, it's like you got no place else to go, right? You really. You got to. So I have a lot of advisors come to me, Matania, like this, and they say, mark, how. How can I become successful like you? And I said, it's very easy. Get married, buy a big house with a huge mortgage, have a whole bunch of children, put them all in private school. You'll do very well. You have no choice. You have no choice. So that's. I really think. I think. I think that a lot of people who are listening to this, you know, as a, as an, as an entrepreneur or as just anybody who's thinking. Most people in life are waiting for the ability before taking on the responsibility. When I'm. When I get, When I study, when I, you know, when I'll do it, then they're waiting for the ability before taking on the responsibility. Jewish wisdom says that's not how it's done. You take on the responsibility first, and then you get the ability. And it's true. You, like, think of it, getting married. You go, how am I going to get married? And then you get married, you go, I wasn't. How am I going to have kids? I'm. I get all like, you got to just jump in. It has to be thought well thought out, and you have to have a plan. But, you know, you got to know where all your money comes from. You got to know where all your success comes from. It comes from your wife. The blessing comes from your wife, and it comes from the Almighty who's really, you know, wants to see you succeed. Succeed. One last comment. I've been so fortunate in life. I've been blessed because I had two passions in life that on one, I've been able to earn a great income from and lifestyle. And the other, I've been able to fulfill my other passion, and that is be charitable and give money away and help organizations, charities, not for profits. In life, very few people are blessed that they can earn income from their passions. For example, it's very difficult to make an income as a poet, as a songwriter, as a musician, as an artist, as a chess player. Okay. As a golfer, as an athlete. Very difficult. Those passions become your hobbies. You're still passionate about it. I would say a key to life would be, and I'm not just going to say, work out every day, eat healthy, make sure you focus on sleep, have a lot of friends. And find someone you could love and give your love to and have that reciprocated. But I do believe that if you can be passionate about business and earn income from it, you've made it. You have it all. That's all there is in life.