One of the truly beautiful consequences of building a company serving a purpose bigger than itself is that the enormity of the mission can free you from unhealthy personal or financial ambition. When you build with a deep rooted desire to make a difference, a dent in something you care deeply about, then having more […]
Netflix and Blockbuster – the key lesson isn’t the one that’s in the lore
Nearly a decade after the demise of Blockbuster, we still hear it often cited as an example of the failure to see or act on innovation. It’s still bandied about as a lesson in how a dominant player can be disrupted out of existence. But that’s not the real lesson. When Blockbuster saw the Netflix […]
I wish you a happy journey for 2020
The journey is everything. For the last 15 or so years of my life, I’ve been realising more and more that everything we do is just a journey, and that we never get to the destination. And that this is a good thing. In all areas of our lives, including when we follow the business […]
Be kind in business, and not for the ROI
Given the current vitriolic and disrespectful state of politics and citizenship in the UK and US, I am worried that we’re in danger of losing kindness as a core value of life and relationships. So I just did a search for “kindness in business” on Google. And the results were even more depressing. Because almost […]
Don’t build a business to sell
A lot of early-stage startups that I meet want to talk about their exit strategy. They spend a lot of time figuring out how to build a company that they can sell for a good price. If exit is your goal (and remember it may not be the only way to build something that meets […]