From an arbitrator to a company owner with a turnover of $ 100 million
Every arbitrator, at least once thought about how to create their own business. There are many advantages in arbitration - you can travel a lot, do not depend on anyone and at the same time earn good money. But sooner or later there will come a time when you start asking yourself the question: “What then?”
We want to talk about Robert Green, the founder of Zeropark and Voluum. Robert went the hard way from a regular arbitrator to the owner of a large company with a turnover of more than $ 100 million per year.
')
Under the cut, we publish a translation of an interview with Rob, in which he told:
Tell us about the history of Codewise?
Initially, Codewise was an outsourcing company that developed custom software. It was not founded by me. In 2011, I came to them with the idea of ​​my first startup. The company at that time had three owners. They made me an advantageous offer, and we started working together. Over time, I came up with Zeropark, so we worked on two projects in parallel. The collaboration went so well that I decided to enter into a share of Codewise, and in fact became a co-owner of the company, first with a small share, then with a more serious one.
At that time, I still continued to arbitrate with a monthly turnover of about $ 300,000, and I was investing profits from this on the development of Codewise. We recruited people to work on projects that have not yet brought profit.
A year later, I realized that I was not comfortable working with two of the owners. One of them is the general director of Codewise, the other is the technical director. The day before my first vacation, the technical director made a mistake that cost me more than $ 300,000 - it was a mistake with Blitzcliq, the internal tracker that we created to automate the advertisement procurement.
I ran out of the office, without saying a word, bought a pack of cigarettes, although I do not smoke. Bartek, the third co-founder, found me in the park, after talking, we decided that we needed to get rid of them.
We met with a lawyer and planned a forced takeover. Without my funding, Codewise would go bankrupt for three weeks. At the general meeting with the founders, I said: "I organized this meeting today because I do not want to cooperate with Codewise anymore."
There was silence, everyone was shocked, they did not even think that this could happen. It was one of the most difficult things I did in life. I remember washing my face with cold water a couple of minutes earlier and saying to myself: “Son of a bitch, you can do it! You have to do it! ” It was clear that it was the end, we parted for a couple of hours to prepare the conditions.
Two hours later, with false confidence and wry smiles, the two founders demanded $ 250,000 each, arguing that Zeropark was on the verge of becoming something big. They had no idea how near they were from the truth. I offered $ 50,000 each, no more. Tense discussion continued, but they had no leverage. The trial would have required financial resources and time, and without my “know-how” the company would not have cost anything. In the end, they agreed. We found a notary who worked at the weekend and went to rewrite the company for me. The guys were in tears, they lost their child, which they created before me. Everything went very quickly. We signed the documents, the legal matter was done. Codewise became mine, I just had to transfer money. Bartek and I went to eat sushi, and I remember transferring $ 100,000 sitting in a restaurant with a smile from ear to ear. I could not believe that we, damn it, did it. The company was ours.
The next day I faced an even more difficult task. We had eight developers. How to let them know that two of the co-founders left us, the company was unprofitable, but is it still a good place to work? To create the illusion of security, we had to lie about how well things were going with us, although in reality we did not know at all what was in store for us in the future. We did not know what we were doing.
This happened in January 2013. I believe that it was a time when I really took the reins of Codewise in my own hands, gathered strength, and began to push the company in the right direction. I had no other choice.
Fast forward a few years to the end of 2015. I faced a terrible burnout - I was exhausted psychologically, physically, I did not sleep and could not cope with stress.
We were profitable, I no longer arbitrage. We had a successful second product, Voluum. But it was the worst period in my life, I broke down. My partner went to Japan for a month, and I did not know whether I was ready to continue work. When Bartek returned, he immediately told me that he was leaving the company. I was shocked. I had similar thoughts. That was the end. He explained that his stress was in step with our success. The company has become more than he ever wanted, his manager’s role was reduced to the fact that he couldn’t code anymore. He was not happy.
I understood him and felt the same thing over the past months. I always knew that if he ever left, I would be doomed to work alone. I was convinced that this was the end. Here, two guys, the owners of a self-financing company, which many envy. The company has millions of dollars in profits, but both owners want to leave. By analogy with an iceberg, people see only the tip of success. Under the water there is still a lot of rubbish, pain and tension.
I told Bartek that I wanted to discuss his departure after his return. We had two options: I buy his share and continue working in the company, or he will remain until we sell the company together. I do not know what happened, but my restless temper gave me a kick, and I wanted to try to start the company myself. I was always better in situations when there was a question of life and death. In situations that could crush most people. We discussed the conditions, and he left. He said goodbye at our December monthly meeting, during which I burst into tears in front of the whole team. It was harder than I expected.
I went to Los Angeles in January 2016 to meet with an investment bank representative who wanted to buy the company. I was wondering how much Codewise costs. They presented me a 100-page dossier, with a detailed analysis of the company based on the metrics we provided, as well as a comparison with similar companies that they sold.
As a result, an estimated selling price was discovered that blew my mind. The range in which we were evaluated was in the middle of a 9-digit number. But I had no emotional attachment to them, I did not want to sell the company. Bankers heard it from every entrepreneur, but when they handed them a check with 8 zeros, it all changed. I thought at this point: “If I get more than $ 100 million in cash, I’ll go crazy. I am 29 years old, what will I do? I do not have enough energy to create another company. ”
I returned to the office full of energy. After Bartek left, I realized how much everything lay on his shoulders. I greatly underestimated the situation. Somewhere in the depths a new Rob appeared and began to tear things down. I did not recognize myself at the beginning; I had to become a master of execution and delegation. Soon I realized that I was able to conduct business myself, and it was the sweetest victory in my career.
Fast forward to October 2015. I'm already 30, and I received two Fast 50 # 1 and Big 5 # 1 awards from the Deloitte Fast 50 company for the fastest growing company in Central Europe with a growth rate of 13.052% in the last four years.
“... no one even approached the 13.052% recorded by the Polish technology marketing company Codewise, as a result of which the company was not only in the Fast 50 rating, but also in the Big Five of the list of large companies. - Alastair Tire, CEO of Deloitte Central Europe.
Last week we moved to the fifth office of Codewise, which we designed, built and planned in two years. The office is designed for 250 people, with an area of ​​3 000 sq. M., It has a gym, soundproofed music rooms. In the office you can not only work, but also live. Not to mention the fact that under us the Uber office.
Now is the best period of my life, both personal and professional. The path to success is thorny and unpredictable. Whatever the end of it all, it is worth it. The path of the entrepreneur is priceless, money is a second time.
Why are you sick of just pouring traffic and wanting to create your own business?
I would not say that I suddenly ceased to want to be an arbiter, it was a gradual and deliberate process, when I started asking questions and wondering if this was what I wanted to do until the end of my life. Arbitrage is the basis that led me to the desire and opportunity to start my own business.
When Codewise became profitable, I gradually began to stop pouring traffic, although this was happening on autopilot. I did not get any joy from launching campaigns, at some point it turned into a routine.
If you yourself go through this stage, you must ask yourself if this is really what you want to do. When you grow up, you realize that money is not as important as you once thought, and that success is not the amount of money you have, or how famous you are, but the process that happens when we do and create what we like, which is more than ourselves.
What were the biggest difficulties?
The biggest problem is to stop thinking like an arbiter. Thoughts about instant results and making profits are like gambling. I had some pretty serious problems with them when I was 19. It is very difficult to reprogram my brain to the fact that a quick income when setting up your business is very difficult, and it scares. Time passes, you do not see the results, you swim into the abyss and do not know what awaits you.
If in doubt, it will lead to failure or stagnation. Zeropark - my second project, the first failed miserably, I will not even mention it. I can only say that with failure, I learned more than in any school or at work that I have ever performed.
It looks like a role-playing game - you go, you face obstacles on your way, you gain experience, you go to a new level and perform more complex tasks. Failure is part of the game. Winners grow when they fail, it crushes losers. This is what distinguishes real entrepreneurs from ordinary people. I was a semi-professional gamer and played a lot of strategies; I translate everything I do into the game.
Money is a tool that can be used to grow further. Emotional attachment to money is dangerous, most people will never give it up. This poor man's thinking is a deficit-based way of thinking. You will never go far with this attitude. I recommend reading the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad . I managed to overcome attachment, I had no problems with losing $ 30,000 at an exhibition with Voluum at the Affiliate Summit East Partner Summit in 2013 in Philadelphia, when the platform was not ready yet, and I did not have the means to splurge.
We have invested nearly $ 300,000 in the Dmexco conference. I do not measure the exhaust from conferences, but I know for sure - one good meeting can provide 10-fold success. When competitors did not show up at the exhibitions in order to “save money”, we gained courage and won gains, while they stood on the sidelines with their scarce thinking.
We released new conference releases, which made us work harder and faster. If you do not raise the stakes, everything will not happen in a magical way, by itself. Spend money to make money - that's how I say.
What were your biggest mistakes?
Inability to delegate, the skill of delegation each entrepreneur must master in one way or another.
A simple thought process and the projection of "no one can do it the way I am." Until you understand this, you will still interfere with the whole process. No one will do things the same way you do. However, if you don’t trust employees and don’t give it a try, they will never become better than you in performing a specific task. Often it is difficult for perfectionists. Being a perfectionist is not a force, it is a great weakness, a hindrance that does not allow you to become an experienced performer.
Do not ignore health, both mental and physical. I used to be active in sports. Work has become a pretext for me to quit. At the beginning of my career, I worked 16 hours a day, and instead of classes, I took muscle relaxants. This caused a number of problems, I struggled with insomnia for many years - only now the situation begins to improve when I moved away from active management.
All sorts of drugs, depression, mental breakdowns - these are typical problems in the life of an entrepreneur, when you drive yourself to the limit. Psychologists, psychiatrists, I went through all this. The balance of work and life is paramount to keep your head up, you need work, sports, a weekend. When you are young and in your 20s, you think that you are invincible, believe me, this reckless behavior will cost you dearly.
So I opened a gym in a new office, we are in the process of hiring two full-time instructors, and I urge everyone to play sports during business hours. This is due to delegation, when you have too much on your shoulders and your thoughts are overloaded. When you are burnt out, you are only 10-20% productive when you feel refreshed, fresh and full of energy. When I was on the verge, I left for two weeks, and on my return, I did a week more than one or two months before the holidays. I am constantly traveling. This not only refreshes my mind and allows for the growth of the company, it expands my vision - the best ideas come to my mind when I leave the office.
If you could travel in time, and you would have only 30 seconds to tell yourself, going 5 years ago?
I used to have similar thoughts in the spirit of "damn, if only I could travel in time and buy all these domains before, or do it differently, then I would be super successful now, and I would show everyone." This is the thinking of a poor person, this is a dream, you are projecting into the past: do not do this. This is an unfortunate way of thinking that leads to such thoughts, you behave just like people who buy lottery tickets. It is stupid, full of false hopes and counterproductive.
Success is nothing more than a way of thinking, a way of thinking. Where a new entrepreneur sees only problems, a veteran entrepreneur who has already tasted many victories and even more failures sees only solutions and ways to overcome problems. There are no obstacles, there is only what you project in your mind. I do not want to seem complacent, but I deliberately reached the point in life where I do not see any obstacles. I always see a way out even in the most critical situations, when I know that most people would have surrendered long ago — this is what determines a successful person. Always yes, never no.
Returning to the question ... I would say: “Rob, you son of a bitch, you have no idea what awaits you, this is better than your wildest dreams. Do not stop dreaming and doing! Life is too short to live in safety! ”
We have already talked about delegation before, but I will add. After spending three years in the company, I still ordered stationery and equipment myself, because I thought that someone would order nonsense. I was obsessed with control and did not want to let go.
Delegation is learned in practice. Over time, you will see that people whom you have entrusted certain tasks become more experienced than you. When you feel this taste, it will be a revelation. Your eyes will suddenly open, and you will realize that this is the only way forward, and the only way to do something big.
The most worthwhile thing in Codewise is when an employee or team did something without my participation. These days, I often have not the slightest idea what work is being done, and I like it, damn it! A big beautiful car became autonomous, and I no longer have to emphasize that everything is under control, trying to go forward "in my own way."
How did you justify the high cost of employees at the beginning? Did you pay the programmer $ 10,000 a month, and he just sat there and was engaged in mini-projects that did not make money?
I myself am not a techie, my former technical director was engaged in hiring. If you do not have a technical education, and you want to build a high-tech product, service or platform, you need to surround yourself with the best, or you will fail. At best, put yourself in a bottle, what happens to our partners.
Technology is central to this business. How to justify the high salaries of talented techies? It was easy. I built a company with great potential. The hard part was to find these people and convince them to join a small company that had nothing to show. It was a game, a presentation of the company in such a light that we ourselves didn’t even believe in our words at that time. If you get the right players, give them what they need, treat them with respect, then they will respect the company and you.
What are you doing to keep motivated?
Motivation is a fickle thing, it comes and goes. There are days when you wake up, and she is. On other days, you can't force yourself to do simple things. Motivation is not something to be counted on; it follows action. Most people are waiting for the motivation to come to them, I learned how to work and take action.
The other thing that motivates me (mind you, I'm a big fan of Gary V.) is the fact that I will die. Life is much shorter than you can imagine, and do you want to be a loser who is waiting for motivation or the “right moment”? Or do you want to be the guy who gets up and does his job every day, regardless of the alignment? I advise this book to anyone who has problems with taking and doing something - it has changed my life, both professional and personal.
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We want to talk about Robert Green, the founder of Zeropark and Voluum. Robert went the hard way from a regular arbitrator to the owner of a large company with a turnover of more than $ 100 million per year.
')
Under the cut, we publish a translation of an interview with Rob, in which he told:
- how I got involved with arbitration and started my own business;
- how he survived from the company of two owners;
- how he managed to cope with emotional and physical burnout;
- how I lost $ 300,000 at the start in four hours;
- how learned to delegate.
Tell us about the history of Codewise?
Initially, Codewise was an outsourcing company that developed custom software. It was not founded by me. In 2011, I came to them with the idea of ​​my first startup. The company at that time had three owners. They made me an advantageous offer, and we started working together. Over time, I came up with Zeropark, so we worked on two projects in parallel. The collaboration went so well that I decided to enter into a share of Codewise, and in fact became a co-owner of the company, first with a small share, then with a more serious one.
At that time, I still continued to arbitrate with a monthly turnover of about $ 300,000, and I was investing profits from this on the development of Codewise. We recruited people to work on projects that have not yet brought profit.
A year later, I realized that I was not comfortable working with two of the owners. One of them is the general director of Codewise, the other is the technical director. The day before my first vacation, the technical director made a mistake that cost me more than $ 300,000 - it was a mistake with Blitzcliq, the internal tracker that we created to automate the advertisement procurement.
I ran out of the office, without saying a word, bought a pack of cigarettes, although I do not smoke. Bartek, the third co-founder, found me in the park, after talking, we decided that we needed to get rid of them.
We met with a lawyer and planned a forced takeover. Without my funding, Codewise would go bankrupt for three weeks. At the general meeting with the founders, I said: "I organized this meeting today because I do not want to cooperate with Codewise anymore."
There was silence, everyone was shocked, they did not even think that this could happen. It was one of the most difficult things I did in life. I remember washing my face with cold water a couple of minutes earlier and saying to myself: “Son of a bitch, you can do it! You have to do it! ” It was clear that it was the end, we parted for a couple of hours to prepare the conditions.
Two hours later, with false confidence and wry smiles, the two founders demanded $ 250,000 each, arguing that Zeropark was on the verge of becoming something big. They had no idea how near they were from the truth. I offered $ 50,000 each, no more. Tense discussion continued, but they had no leverage. The trial would have required financial resources and time, and without my “know-how” the company would not have cost anything. In the end, they agreed. We found a notary who worked at the weekend and went to rewrite the company for me. The guys were in tears, they lost their child, which they created before me. Everything went very quickly. We signed the documents, the legal matter was done. Codewise became mine, I just had to transfer money. Bartek and I went to eat sushi, and I remember transferring $ 100,000 sitting in a restaurant with a smile from ear to ear. I could not believe that we, damn it, did it. The company was ours.
The next day I faced an even more difficult task. We had eight developers. How to let them know that two of the co-founders left us, the company was unprofitable, but is it still a good place to work? To create the illusion of security, we had to lie about how well things were going with us, although in reality we did not know at all what was in store for us in the future. We did not know what we were doing.
This happened in January 2013. I believe that it was a time when I really took the reins of Codewise in my own hands, gathered strength, and began to push the company in the right direction. I had no other choice.
Fast forward a few years to the end of 2015. I faced a terrible burnout - I was exhausted psychologically, physically, I did not sleep and could not cope with stress.
We were profitable, I no longer arbitrage. We had a successful second product, Voluum. But it was the worst period in my life, I broke down. My partner went to Japan for a month, and I did not know whether I was ready to continue work. When Bartek returned, he immediately told me that he was leaving the company. I was shocked. I had similar thoughts. That was the end. He explained that his stress was in step with our success. The company has become more than he ever wanted, his manager’s role was reduced to the fact that he couldn’t code anymore. He was not happy.
I understood him and felt the same thing over the past months. I always knew that if he ever left, I would be doomed to work alone. I was convinced that this was the end. Here, two guys, the owners of a self-financing company, which many envy. The company has millions of dollars in profits, but both owners want to leave. By analogy with an iceberg, people see only the tip of success. Under the water there is still a lot of rubbish, pain and tension.
I told Bartek that I wanted to discuss his departure after his return. We had two options: I buy his share and continue working in the company, or he will remain until we sell the company together. I do not know what happened, but my restless temper gave me a kick, and I wanted to try to start the company myself. I was always better in situations when there was a question of life and death. In situations that could crush most people. We discussed the conditions, and he left. He said goodbye at our December monthly meeting, during which I burst into tears in front of the whole team. It was harder than I expected.
I went to Los Angeles in January 2016 to meet with an investment bank representative who wanted to buy the company. I was wondering how much Codewise costs. They presented me a 100-page dossier, with a detailed analysis of the company based on the metrics we provided, as well as a comparison with similar companies that they sold.
As a result, an estimated selling price was discovered that blew my mind. The range in which we were evaluated was in the middle of a 9-digit number. But I had no emotional attachment to them, I did not want to sell the company. Bankers heard it from every entrepreneur, but when they handed them a check with 8 zeros, it all changed. I thought at this point: “If I get more than $ 100 million in cash, I’ll go crazy. I am 29 years old, what will I do? I do not have enough energy to create another company. ”
I returned to the office full of energy. After Bartek left, I realized how much everything lay on his shoulders. I greatly underestimated the situation. Somewhere in the depths a new Rob appeared and began to tear things down. I did not recognize myself at the beginning; I had to become a master of execution and delegation. Soon I realized that I was able to conduct business myself, and it was the sweetest victory in my career.
Fast forward to October 2015. I'm already 30, and I received two Fast 50 # 1 and Big 5 # 1 awards from the Deloitte Fast 50 company for the fastest growing company in Central Europe with a growth rate of 13.052% in the last four years.
“... no one even approached the 13.052% recorded by the Polish technology marketing company Codewise, as a result of which the company was not only in the Fast 50 rating, but also in the Big Five of the list of large companies. - Alastair Tire, CEO of Deloitte Central Europe.
Last week we moved to the fifth office of Codewise, which we designed, built and planned in two years. The office is designed for 250 people, with an area of ​​3 000 sq. M., It has a gym, soundproofed music rooms. In the office you can not only work, but also live. Not to mention the fact that under us the Uber office.
Now is the best period of my life, both personal and professional. The path to success is thorny and unpredictable. Whatever the end of it all, it is worth it. The path of the entrepreneur is priceless, money is a second time.
Why are you sick of just pouring traffic and wanting to create your own business?
I would not say that I suddenly ceased to want to be an arbiter, it was a gradual and deliberate process, when I started asking questions and wondering if this was what I wanted to do until the end of my life. Arbitrage is the basis that led me to the desire and opportunity to start my own business.
When Codewise became profitable, I gradually began to stop pouring traffic, although this was happening on autopilot. I did not get any joy from launching campaigns, at some point it turned into a routine.
If you yourself go through this stage, you must ask yourself if this is really what you want to do. When you grow up, you realize that money is not as important as you once thought, and that success is not the amount of money you have, or how famous you are, but the process that happens when we do and create what we like, which is more than ourselves.
What were the biggest difficulties?
The biggest problem is to stop thinking like an arbiter. Thoughts about instant results and making profits are like gambling. I had some pretty serious problems with them when I was 19. It is very difficult to reprogram my brain to the fact that a quick income when setting up your business is very difficult, and it scares. Time passes, you do not see the results, you swim into the abyss and do not know what awaits you.
If in doubt, it will lead to failure or stagnation. Zeropark - my second project, the first failed miserably, I will not even mention it. I can only say that with failure, I learned more than in any school or at work that I have ever performed.
It looks like a role-playing game - you go, you face obstacles on your way, you gain experience, you go to a new level and perform more complex tasks. Failure is part of the game. Winners grow when they fail, it crushes losers. This is what distinguishes real entrepreneurs from ordinary people. I was a semi-professional gamer and played a lot of strategies; I translate everything I do into the game.
Money is a tool that can be used to grow further. Emotional attachment to money is dangerous, most people will never give it up. This poor man's thinking is a deficit-based way of thinking. You will never go far with this attitude. I recommend reading the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad . I managed to overcome attachment, I had no problems with losing $ 30,000 at an exhibition with Voluum at the Affiliate Summit East Partner Summit in 2013 in Philadelphia, when the platform was not ready yet, and I did not have the means to splurge.
We have invested nearly $ 300,000 in the Dmexco conference. I do not measure the exhaust from conferences, but I know for sure - one good meeting can provide 10-fold success. When competitors did not show up at the exhibitions in order to “save money”, we gained courage and won gains, while they stood on the sidelines with their scarce thinking.
We released new conference releases, which made us work harder and faster. If you do not raise the stakes, everything will not happen in a magical way, by itself. Spend money to make money - that's how I say.
What were your biggest mistakes?
Inability to delegate, the skill of delegation each entrepreneur must master in one way or another.
A simple thought process and the projection of "no one can do it the way I am." Until you understand this, you will still interfere with the whole process. No one will do things the same way you do. However, if you don’t trust employees and don’t give it a try, they will never become better than you in performing a specific task. Often it is difficult for perfectionists. Being a perfectionist is not a force, it is a great weakness, a hindrance that does not allow you to become an experienced performer.
Do not ignore health, both mental and physical. I used to be active in sports. Work has become a pretext for me to quit. At the beginning of my career, I worked 16 hours a day, and instead of classes, I took muscle relaxants. This caused a number of problems, I struggled with insomnia for many years - only now the situation begins to improve when I moved away from active management.
All sorts of drugs, depression, mental breakdowns - these are typical problems in the life of an entrepreneur, when you drive yourself to the limit. Psychologists, psychiatrists, I went through all this. The balance of work and life is paramount to keep your head up, you need work, sports, a weekend. When you are young and in your 20s, you think that you are invincible, believe me, this reckless behavior will cost you dearly.
So I opened a gym in a new office, we are in the process of hiring two full-time instructors, and I urge everyone to play sports during business hours. This is due to delegation, when you have too much on your shoulders and your thoughts are overloaded. When you are burnt out, you are only 10-20% productive when you feel refreshed, fresh and full of energy. When I was on the verge, I left for two weeks, and on my return, I did a week more than one or two months before the holidays. I am constantly traveling. This not only refreshes my mind and allows for the growth of the company, it expands my vision - the best ideas come to my mind when I leave the office.
If you could travel in time, and you would have only 30 seconds to tell yourself, going 5 years ago?
I used to have similar thoughts in the spirit of "damn, if only I could travel in time and buy all these domains before, or do it differently, then I would be super successful now, and I would show everyone." This is the thinking of a poor person, this is a dream, you are projecting into the past: do not do this. This is an unfortunate way of thinking that leads to such thoughts, you behave just like people who buy lottery tickets. It is stupid, full of false hopes and counterproductive.
Success is nothing more than a way of thinking, a way of thinking. Where a new entrepreneur sees only problems, a veteran entrepreneur who has already tasted many victories and even more failures sees only solutions and ways to overcome problems. There are no obstacles, there is only what you project in your mind. I do not want to seem complacent, but I deliberately reached the point in life where I do not see any obstacles. I always see a way out even in the most critical situations, when I know that most people would have surrendered long ago — this is what determines a successful person. Always yes, never no.
Returning to the question ... I would say: “Rob, you son of a bitch, you have no idea what awaits you, this is better than your wildest dreams. Do not stop dreaming and doing! Life is too short to live in safety! ”
We have already talked about delegation before, but I will add. After spending three years in the company, I still ordered stationery and equipment myself, because I thought that someone would order nonsense. I was obsessed with control and did not want to let go.
Delegation is learned in practice. Over time, you will see that people whom you have entrusted certain tasks become more experienced than you. When you feel this taste, it will be a revelation. Your eyes will suddenly open, and you will realize that this is the only way forward, and the only way to do something big.
The most worthwhile thing in Codewise is when an employee or team did something without my participation. These days, I often have not the slightest idea what work is being done, and I like it, damn it! A big beautiful car became autonomous, and I no longer have to emphasize that everything is under control, trying to go forward "in my own way."
How did you justify the high cost of employees at the beginning? Did you pay the programmer $ 10,000 a month, and he just sat there and was engaged in mini-projects that did not make money?
I myself am not a techie, my former technical director was engaged in hiring. If you do not have a technical education, and you want to build a high-tech product, service or platform, you need to surround yourself with the best, or you will fail. At best, put yourself in a bottle, what happens to our partners.
Technology is central to this business. How to justify the high salaries of talented techies? It was easy. I built a company with great potential. The hard part was to find these people and convince them to join a small company that had nothing to show. It was a game, a presentation of the company in such a light that we ourselves didn’t even believe in our words at that time. If you get the right players, give them what they need, treat them with respect, then they will respect the company and you.
What are you doing to keep motivated?
Motivation is a fickle thing, it comes and goes. There are days when you wake up, and she is. On other days, you can't force yourself to do simple things. Motivation is not something to be counted on; it follows action. Most people are waiting for the motivation to come to them, I learned how to work and take action.
The other thing that motivates me (mind you, I'm a big fan of Gary V.) is the fact that I will die. Life is much shorter than you can imagine, and do you want to be a loser who is waiting for motivation or the “right moment”? Or do you want to be the guy who gets up and does his job every day, regardless of the alignment? I advise this book to anyone who has problems with taking and doing something - it has changed my life, both professional and personal.
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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/316310/
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