A couple of days ago, Henrique Dubugras published a new episode of the HD in HD podcast featuring Nik Storonsky, the CEO & Co-Founder of Revolut. The conversation is insightful and provocative – absolutely worth your time, I recommend you to check it out when you get the chance.
However, if you’re thinking of following in Nik’s footsteps to grow your own company, you might be setting yourself up for failure. And here’s why.
Our generation is busier than ever-before. We’re all time-constrained, facing ever-increasing pressures at work and at home. Staying on top of everything while adding learning to the mix is not an easy thing to do. It’s essential though, if we want to keep growing, personally and professionally. Lifelong learning is not just a sexy word. It’s what makes the difference between staying relevant in our line of work versus falling into oblivion.
Learning increases our mental bandwidth, improves our decision-making skills and helps us perform at our best. The brain is not a muscle, but it acts pretty much like one. Exercise it regularly and it will stay healthy and get fitter. Fail to train it properly, and it will atrophy. If we’re not learning, we’re not being stuck at the same level as before, but actually getting worse. This is because the world around us is moving ahead. Fast. Jump on the bandwagon or you’re left behind.
Resolutions time of year is behind us now, with most goals being put away as we’re drawn in the regular whirlwind of our lives. Contrary to popular belief, resolutions aren’t inherently bad. I’ve written about that here. Still, they are constantly mocked and have become the topic of seasonal jokes. This is because most resolutions are never attained. Quite on the contrary, plenty of people will forget about them or completely give up on them before February comes. Of course, this has nothing to do with resolutions, but with how they’re set and the person that’s setting them.
Travel has always been part of who I am. I’ve always been a curious traveller, deeply passionate about discovering the world. I started flying in my early years of University, spending every single penny I had on seeing new destinations, applying for scholarships that would allow me to see places I couldn’t afford otherwise. I literally never settled: I’ve been living, working or studying in 8 cities across Europe and the US. Being based in a suitcase has always been something that fits my lifestyle and feeds my soul.
And then I became a mother. I wrote here about the challenges I faced as a full-time working mother. Not little was my surprise when I discovered that being a travelling mother is equally challenging and unpredictable.
Hypergrowth is the Holy Grail of the tech startups’ land. Every founder out there wants to have that hockey-stick growth curve. Very few actually get to see it. And there are very good reasons why. Real hypergrowth is the true unicorn that even some of the acclaimed tech unicorns don’t get to discover.