Harley Finkelstein

We have never seen acceleration and pace of growth of company building that we're seeing right now. Never before would a company go from zero in a college dorm in the UK to a billion dollar behemoth competing with Nike in a span of one single decade. So the amazing part is that if you understand this,

We have never seen acceleration and pace of growth of company building that we're seeing right now. Never before would a company go from zero in a college dorm in the UK to a billion dollar behemoth competing with Nike in a span of one single decade. So the amazing part is that if you understand this,

And if you understand what you need to grow from an education perspective, from a philosophy perspective, from a hustle perspective, the energy that's required, you can build remarkable things. And those things weren't possible for... some random person to build 20, 30, 50, 500 years ago. 500 years ago, the people that were building the biggest companies had a lot of money.

And if you understand what you need to grow from an education perspective, from a philosophy perspective, from a hustle perspective, the energy that's required, you can build remarkable things. And those things weren't possible for... some random person to build 20, 30, 50, 500 years ago. 500 years ago, the people that were building the biggest companies had a lot of money.

They had a lot of connections. They had incredible backgrounds and they were someone's grandson or niece or something. There was something in their family history that allowed them to have this incredible, not easy, but an easier way to grow into scale. That is not the case. Today, entrepreneurship is as much of a meritocracy. It's not a perfect meritocracy.

They had a lot of connections. They had incredible backgrounds and they were someone's grandson or niece or something. There was something in their family history that allowed them to have this incredible, not easy, but an easier way to grow into scale. That is not the case. Today, entrepreneurship is as much of a meritocracy. It's not a perfect meritocracy.

There are still people that don't have access to the internet around the world. So obviously, there are some people that are starting from further back in the race. But as a whole, specifically in the developed world, The amount of opportunity that someone has right now is unlike anything we've ever seen. And that's what keeps me so optimistic about the future of entrepreneurship.

There are still people that don't have access to the internet around the world. So obviously, there are some people that are starting from further back in the race. But as a whole, specifically in the developed world, The amount of opportunity that someone has right now is unlike anything we've ever seen. And that's what keeps me so optimistic about the future of entrepreneurship.

You asked specifically some of the things that helped me climb. Let me be very specific. A couple things. There is a meme or a narrative right now on this thing called founder mode. Brian Chesky, who's the founder and CEO of Airbnb, said it on stage a few months ago. And there's been a bunch of blog posts and articles written about founder mode. Founder mode is very simple.

You asked specifically some of the things that helped me climb. Let me be very specific. A couple things. There is a meme or a narrative right now on this thing called founder mode. Brian Chesky, who's the founder and CEO of Airbnb, said it on stage a few months ago. And there's been a bunch of blog posts and articles written about founder mode. Founder mode is very simple.

it just means you have to be in the details. And you don't have to be a founder to be in the details, but as a leader, I think the best way to operate today is in founder mode. When I am working on something, a project, I expect the people I'm working with to know a lot about it, but I often will go five levels deeper into the details. When we're doing an earnings call, for example,

it just means you have to be in the details. And you don't have to be a founder to be in the details, but as a leader, I think the best way to operate today is in founder mode. When I am working on something, a project, I expect the people I'm working with to know a lot about it, but I often will go five levels deeper into the details. When we're doing an earnings call, for example,

I know there are certain metrics I want to talk about. There's a certain narrative. I need to write my own script. I need to ensure that every word choice I use is specifically geared towards the message, the audience, the timing of when we're talking about it. Toby still writes code.

I know there are certain metrics I want to talk about. There's a certain narrative. I need to write my own script. I need to ensure that every word choice I use is specifically geared towards the message, the audience, the timing of when we're talking about it. Toby still writes code.

When he's working on an important project, he'll still go in and write code to make sure that it's done a particular way. So one is I think getting into the weeds is really important at any stage of company. The second is I have a default to action. One of my superpowers is being exothermic. I try to add energy to things. But when I see a problem, my first instinct is to try to solve it.

When he's working on an important project, he'll still go in and write code to make sure that it's done a particular way. So one is I think getting into the weeds is really important at any stage of company. The second is I have a default to action. One of my superpowers is being exothermic. I try to add energy to things. But when I see a problem, my first instinct is to try to solve it.

That works very well in my business. That works less well in my marriage. I mean that. My wife and I have a great relationship. We've been I've said this publicly before, but since getting married 11 years ago, we've been seeing a couples therapist just to kind of help us make sure that we're communicating properly.

That works very well in my business. That works less well in my marriage. I mean that. My wife and I have a great relationship. We've been I've said this publicly before, but since getting married 11 years ago, we've been seeing a couples therapist just to kind of help us make sure that we're communicating properly.

And I think when she comes to me with a problem, her name is Lindsay, when Lindsay comes to me with a problem, my first instinct is to try to solve the problem. Doesn't work great because sometimes she just wants me to commiserate, be empathetic, to just be sympathetic, to say, yeah, that sucks.

And I think when she comes to me with a problem, her name is Lindsay, when Lindsay comes to me with a problem, my first instinct is to try to solve the problem. Doesn't work great because sometimes she just wants me to commiserate, be empathetic, to just be sympathetic, to say, yeah, that sucks.