Broke and roughly two weeks away from needing to find a ‘real’ job, BoardPro Co-Founder and CEO Brett Herkt decided to take a leap of faith on a new startup idea, even though his last left him in major debt and putting pressure on his family. “I’d invested three-and-a-half years of my life and my Co-Founder Kim Thibault had spent maybe a year of hers, trying to keep the first one alive. And it was a huge ask of my wife as we had a A$40,000 overdraft, three young children and were living off nothing,” Brett recalls. “But then Kim and I had another idea pop up. We were bitten by the entrepreneurship bug and had to keep going. We wanted to do our own thing. And incredibly my wife was willing to go again.”
Their “own thing” didn’t come without a bit of hesitation, of course. They were understandably reluctant to keep going. “There’s a little bit of a fear factor once you break out of the normal corporate career,” Brett admits. But hard experience told him this idea was much stronger.
LESSONS LEARNED
Brett had to fail before he could sail in the world of entrepreneurship. Learn from his rookie mistakes with his three tips below.
1. Find and solve a real problem that pays: Ruthlessly hunt for a real problem that needs solving and that people will pay you to solve.
2. Learn your craft: Would you hire someone to do a renovation of your house who wasn’t a qualified builder? No. In the same way, you need to qualify yourself to become a startup entrepreneur, especially if you’re going to try to do high growth and take capital from other people. So spend your free time reading blogs and listening to podcasts.
Denne historien er fra July 2021-utgaven av The CEO Magazine - ANZ.
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Denne historien er fra July 2021-utgaven av The CEO Magazine - ANZ.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
There Were No Unknowns For Us
Putting discipline at the core of figurehead construction helped it survive both the global financial crisis and the covid-19 pandemic, says managing director Joe Grasso.
The Future Is Digital
We are watching a lot more television as a result of the pandemic, but as the senior vice president, head of streaming for 10 viacomcbs Liz Baldwin explains, the way we view it has totally changed.
The Ultimate Investments
With the global economic recovery from the pandemic underway, many analysts are suggesting now is the time to invest – but will whisky, soybeans or bitcoin find a way into your portfolio?
Once in a LIFETIME
CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF INTEGRITI PROJECTS ANDREW STENOS IS BUILDING MORE THAN BESPOKE HOMES. HE’S ALSO BUILDING DREAMS FOR CLIENTS WHO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT.
PUTTING FAMILY FIRST
COUNTRY LIVING HOMES MANAGING DIRECTOR MARK RAVENSCROFT HAS OVERSEEN IMPRESSIVE GROWTH, BUT NEVER LOST SIGHT OF WHAT MAKES THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS SUCH A SUCCESS.
“A SAFER COMMUNITY IS MY MAIN PRIORITY”
ULTIMATE SECURITY CEO NASSIM SAID HAS BUILT A HIGH-TECH SECURITY ORGANISATION FROM THE GROUND UP, ALWAYS WITH COMMUNITY SAFETY IN MIND AND AN INSISTENCE ON FAMILY VALUES.
We Did It Our Way.
WHEN STEVEN SIMEONI FOUNDED TAS CITY BUILDING, HE KNEW HE WANTED TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
FROM PRECISION TO PREZZEE
A COMMERCIAL PROPERTY BARON AT 24, PRECISION GROUP BILLIONAIRE SHAUN BONÉTT HAS BUILT HIS CAREER ON UNDERSTANDING THE RETAIL MARKET. NOW HE’S INTRODUCING PREZZEE, THE DIGITAL GIFT CARD PLATFORM THAT’S CHANGING THE WAY WE GIVE.
HIGHWAY STAR
IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA, WHERE TRUCKS ROUTINELY NAVIGATE VAST STRETCHES OF HIGHWAY, THE ROAD BETWEEN AGRIBUSINESS AND COMMUNITY IS SHORT. DENILIQUIN FREIGHTERS IS AN OLD HAND AT THAT ROUTE, WHICH CEO VICKI MEYER SAYS IS ITS MOST IMPORTANT ONE.
BENEATH THE SHEETS
A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP GOES A LONG WAY TOWARDS MENTAL WELLNESS, AND AH BEARD CEO TONY PEARSON BELIEVES THE OFT OVERLOOKED MATTRESS IS THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT.
