12 founders share their entrepreneurial wisdom

12 Successful Founders Share their Entrepreneurial Wisdom Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   When   you've   formulated   a   n ew   b usiness   i dea   i n   your   h ead,   w here   d o   you   go   for   a dvice   o n   h ow   to   m ake   your   d ream   a   reality?     Your   p arents?   B est   f riend?  G oogle?     It's   b etter   to   take   your   a dvice   f rom   experts   i nstead     (No   o ffense,   M om.)   We  asked  business  founders   and  CEOs  to  share  their  best   piece  of  advice  for  new   entrepreneurs Read  on  to  see  what  they  had  to  say     ➔➔ Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   On  always  following  your              passion       “   The   only   thing   that   will   get   you   through   the   tough   times   of   being   an   entrepreneur   —   and   there   will   be   many  of  those  —  is  being  very  singular  and  passionate   about   what   you   are   doing   If   you're   not,   if   you're   chasing   money   or   anything   else,   then   the   highs   and   lows   o f   startup   l ife   w ill   a bsolutely   wear   you   o ut     Andrew   F ilev   Founder/CEO   Wrike ” Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   “   Ideas   and   businesses   are   not   created   overnight   Things   will   tend   to   take   longer   than   expected,   whether   that   is   fundraising,   product   development   cycles,   customer   a cquisition,   etc…   In   Silicon   Valley,   this   is   tough,   because   the   whole   culture   here   is   built   around   a   short-­‐term  focus  of  how  quickly  you  can  grow  Survive  another  day  and  keep  at  it   Those   w ho   h ave   p atience   a nd   resilience   w ill   eventually   f ind   s uccess                         ” Jonathan   Tang   Founder/CEO     Vastrm On  growing  your  business  —  slowly Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   On  embracing  new,  different  ideas “   Keep   a   nimble   mind   It's   good   that   you   want   to   stick   to   your   vision,   after   all   it's   your   baby,  but  things  change  along  the  way  Don't  be   afraid   to   e mbrace   c hange   a nd   m ix   t hings   u p   Brad   Zomick     Co-­‐founder/Senior   D irector   o f   C ontent   SkilledUp ” Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   On  talking  to  your  customers “   If   you   haven’t   spent   at   least   as   much   time   talking   to   your   customers   as   you   have   building   your   prototype,   stop   and   go   have   as   many   conversations   as   you   possibly   can     You’ll   get   more   game-­‐changing   insights   about   your   product,   messaging,   positioning   and   sales   strategy  than  you  could  ever  learn   from   reading   b usiness   b ooks   Alex   Turnbull     Founder/CEO     Groove ” Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   On  carefully  accepting  and  incorporating  feedback “   Be   careful   who   you   choose   to   listen   to   Too   much   of   the   wrong   feedback   and   ideas   can   choke   your   creativity   and   your   beliefs   Does   the   person   giving   you   feedback   share   your   lens?   Do   they   fit   your   target   persona?   ” Nick   Kellet   Co-­‐founder   Listly Click Here for Even More Entrepreneurship Advice > Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   “ On  finding  your  “other  half”   Never,   ever,   settle   on   a   co-­‐founder   If   it's   not   right,   take   a   pause   Even   if   you   have   to   drop   the   project   entirely   for   a   while   Even   if   you   fall   far   behind   Because   a  great  co-­‐founder  will  just  take  you  to  so   many   a mazing   p laces,   s o   m uch   faster   Jason   L emkin,     Co-­‐Founder/CEO     Echosign   a nd   S aaStr ” Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   On  hiring  a  great  team “   Build  a  team  of  people  that  aspire   You   don’t   want   the   person   who   is   the   best   in   the   field,   you   want   the   person   who   desperately   wants   to   be   that   person   ” Jessica   J essup   Co-­‐founder   Giftovus Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   On  nurturing  your  company  culture “   Your   e mployees   a re   your   m ost   valuable   a sset     Even   m ore   i mportant   t han   your   f irst   f unding   round   o r   your   attempts   at   going   v iral   You   must   focus   o n   c reating   a   work   e nvironment   t hat   i s   e mpowering,   f lexible   a nd   enjoyable   A lso   focus   o n   h iring   p eople   m uch   s marter   t han   you   —   i f   you’re   n ot,   you’ve   got   i t   a ll   w rong   Clayton   D ean   Co-­‐Founder/Managing   D irector   Circa   I nteractive ” Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   “   Read,   l earn,   a nd   read   s ome   m ore!   T he   a mount   o f   i nformation   that   can   b e   found   o n   t he   web   i s   i ncredible   A nd   d on't   forget     about   b ooks   —   H ow   to   W in   Friends   a nd   I nfluence     People,   L incoln   o n   L eadership,   a nd   T he   B ig     Leap   a re   g reat   p laces   to   start   S tart     rounding   o ut   your   h ard   e dges   s o     that   you   can   m ake   yourself     easier   to   work   w ith   ” Arsham   M irshah   &   C hris   M echanic     C o-­‐founders   WebMechanix On  being  a  better  leader Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   “ On  growing  leaders   The   secret   of   leadership   is   to   create   more   leaders   You     that   by   giving   up   responsibility   and   [letting]   the   other   person   fail   on   their   own   We   never   learn   from   others'   teachings,   we   learn   from   our   experiences   Let   your   managers/leaders   grow   t he   s ame   way   Annkur   P   A garwal     Founder   PriceBaba.com ” Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   “ On  failure  and  success   Act   m ore   T hink   l ess     I   believe   that   many   entrepreneurs   can   suffer   from   “analysis   paralysis”   and   overthink   themselves   to   inaction,   which   lets   valuable   opportunities   slip   through   their   fingers   I   encourage   my   employees   to   be   proactive   in   their   roles   and   learn   from   their   experiences   —   good   and   bad   Failure   isn’t   a   negative,   as   l ong   a s   you   l earn   f rom   w hat   you   d id!   Rob   B ellenfant   Founder/CEO   TechnologyAdvice ” Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   On  the  mental  hardships   of  being  a  founder “   There's   n othing   b etter   t han   starting   your   own   b usiness   b ut   you   h ave   to   b e   O K   w ith   t he   u ps   a nd   d owns   You   a re   going   to   have   h igher   h ighs   a nd   l ower   l ows   t han   you've   ever   h ad   b efore   From   a n   e motional   standpoint,   you   n eed   to   b e   o k   w ith   t his   B ut   in   t he   e nd   I 'd   a dvise   " just   d o   i t."   Will   von   B ernuth   Co-­‐founder   Block   I sland   O rganics ” Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   Want  to  hear  more  from  startup     founders  around  the  world? Click Here For More Entrepreneurship Advice Visit   t he   Wrike   b log   to   read   a dvice   f rom   a ll   30   f ounders   who   t heir   b usiness   t ips   wrike.com/blog Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   https://www.wrike.com Links  to  image  credits,  by  slide:   Slide  1  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/education-­‐infography_763892.htm   Slide  2  http://www.istockphoto.com/     Slide  3  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/blood-­‐donation_763771.htm     Slide  4  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/city-­‐sewerage_763996.htm   Slide  5  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/idea-­‐man-­‐vector-­‐design_718375.htm   Slide  6  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/evaluating-­‐a-­‐business-­‐idea-­‐vector_758729.htm   Slide  7  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/business-­‐meeting-­‐icon_723246.htm   Slide  8  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/creative-­‐team_761451.htm     Slide  9  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/businessman-­‐being-­‐throwing-­‐up-­‐by-­‐his-­‐teamwork_764394.htm     Slide  10  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/fireworks-­‐vector-­‐art_724259.htm     Slide  11  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/education-­‐concept-­‐with-­‐book_761457.htm     Slide  12  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/creative-­‐team_763734.htm     Slide  13  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/team-­‐work-­‐cartoon_756781.htm     Slide  14  http://deathtothestockphoto.com/     Slide  15  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/world-­‐travel-­‐vector-­‐free-­‐template_714008.htm     All  images  found  on  www.freepik.com  designed  by  FreePik [...]... suffer   from   “analysis   paralysis”   and   overthink   themselves   to   inaction,   which   lets   valuable   opportunities   slip   through   their   fingers   I   encourage   my   employees   to   be   proactive   in   their   roles   and   learn   from   their   experiences   —   good   and   bad   Failure   isn’t   a   negative,   as   l ong   a s   you   l earn   f rom   w hat   you   d id!  ... Arsham   M irshah   &   C hris   M echanic     C o-­ founders   WebMechanix On  being  a  better  leader Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   “ On  growing  leaders   The   secret   of   leadership   is   to   create   more   leaders   You   do   that   by   giving   up   responsibility   and   [letting]   the   other   person   fail   on   their   own   We   never   learn   from   others'  ... he   e nd   I 'd   a dvise   " just   d o   i t."   Will   von   B ernuth   Co-­‐founder   Block   I sland   O rganics ” Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   Want  to  hear  more  from  startup     founders  around  the  world? Click Here For More Entrepreneurship Advice Visit   t he   Wrike   b log   to   read   a dvice   f rom   a ll   30   f ounders   who   t heir   b usiness   t ips   wrike.com/blog...  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/businessman-­‐being-­‐throwing-­‐up-­‐by-­‐his-­‐teamwork_764394.htm     Slide  10  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/fireworks-­‐vector-­‐art_724259.htm     Slide  11  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/education-­‐concept-­‐with-­‐book_761457.htm     Slide 12  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/creative-­‐team_763734.htm     Slide  13  http://www.freepik.com/free-­‐vector/team-­‐work-­‐cartoon_756781.htm     Slide  14  http://deathtothestockphoto.com/ ... f rom   experts   i nstead     (No   o ffense,   M om.)   We  asked  business founders   and  CEOs  to share their  best   piece  of  advice  for  new   entrepreneurs Read  on  to  see  what... valuable   opportunities   slip   through   their   fingers   I   encourage   my   employees   to   be   proactive   in   their   roles   and   learn   from   their   experiences   —   good   and  ... yourself     easier   to   work   w ith   ” Arsham   M irshah   &   C hris   M echanic     C o-­ founders   WebMechanix On  being  a  better  leader Wrike.com    Where  Work  Gets  Done   “ On