The Secret to a Billion Dollar Company - You.wav

Speakers: Willy Schlacks (Co-CEO & Co-Founder at EquipmentShare)

Key Points

• However you measure success (level of scaling, market cap, benefit to the community, etc.), there are consistent things, and it is the optimistic perspective that is authentic to yourself that you absolutely believe you can win. This does matter when your back is against the wall and everything goes wrong. At this point, you realize you are either doing this for yourself or other people. If you are doing this for other people aka seeking external validation then you will lose.
• Knowing yourself is far more important than knowing other people. If you know yourself you will naturally understand other people. Don’t expend energy on understanding, influencing, or persuading others (i.e. co-founders, employees, etc.). When you know yourself you will become far more authentic. To build a billion-dollar company it takes authenticity. This helps move away from external validation for your ideas and increases collaboration. The ability to enable yourself and maintain focus will be a driver to being successful.
• You have to be the smartest person in the room. If you aren’t, become the smartest person in the room by absorbing info and asking questions. Also, you have to believe that you are the smartest person in the room or do your best to get to that point. This doesn’t necessarily mean you are the most knowledgeable. When you realize the power of who you are there is a feeling of dominance when you tackle problems. There is a path and journey where this is a compounding effect.
• Do not weigh outside opinions or perspectives too highly. You have to have conviction in what you are building.