Our CEO, Arsen Tomsky’s book, Inner Drive: From Underdog to Global Company (which recently made McKinsey's list of recommended reads) is now available in audiobook! So, to mark the occasion, we’ve collected some of his advice.
In his book, inDriver, Arsen Tomsky gives plenty of advice for entrepreneurs and startups, much of it in the form of first-hand experience gained while building multiple businesses before inDrive went on to become a unicorn.
We’ve grabbed five pieces of advice from his book Inner Drive: From Underdog to Global Company.
1. Build a good team
It’s important for any company to have a good team. To be more precise, it’s important for any company working in an intellectual field like IT. One of the reasons my first B2B business failed was that I didn’t have a team. Aside from me, there was just one employee, who was in charge of technical support for our clients. If I’d had a strong, full-fledged team, I’m sure we could have found a way out of the crisis and risen like the phoenix to continue on.
2. Good leadership is vital
The people heading the company are of key importance. While a business can survive the turnover of regular employees, the loss of any leader, from the director of a department on up, is highly traumatic. It’s just like tearing off a living person’s finger or hand. You’ve got gushing blood, intense pain, and the potential for serious complications. Every founder and CEO needs to pay careful attention when putting together their core team, the fighting squad of veterans loyal to the mission and values of the company, and provide them with support and opportunities for development. (48)
3. Don’t seek out investment too early
Investment at the initial stage of a company’s development is more of a failure than a success. It’s like you’re admitting that the company has insufficient internal resources for small-scale development, and the founders lack the minimum resources necessary to support their team at the stage of looking for a viable model (which means they also lack a successful entrepreneurial background).
4. In fact, seek investment only when it’s really necessary for growth:
Founders should try to avoid investment at the company’s subsequent stages of development as well, unless absolutely necessary, such as when the company could miss out on significant opportunities due to insufficient funds of its own. Among other things, the erosion of founders’ shares from investment is a serious pitfall. (120)
Every founder is tempted by the vision of an easy start for their young company, without all the money headaches. But it’s better to operate on your own if you can find a way, and there almost always is one to be found. You should seek investment when you have a proven business model with healthy business fundamentals, from reliable investors with a good reputation, to accelerate your company’s growth. (121)
5. Keep your own counsel
When you begin a new venture, it’s not uncommon to hear a lot of pessimistic comments from the people in your life, sometimes even your family and friends—strange but true. Many would rather warn you about potential risks and difficulties than offer support, doing so in the guise of “helpful advice.”
...The work of psychologists Abraham Tesser, Sarah Hill, David Bass, and others demonstrates that friends and acquaintances sometimes subconsciously worry that you will become more successful than they are, which would damage their self-esteem and even induce a deep-seated anxiety about reduced access to resources in the fight for survival. So they try, consciously or subconsciously, to stop you through dissuasion and descriptions of the many threats and risks you will face. You have to analyze the situation and make the decision on your own, based on precise numbers, facts, and the opinions of independent experts. After you’ve made it, move forward with maximum energy and determination.
Read Inner Drive: From Underdog to Global Company, is now available in English on all major platforms: Amazon Kindle Store, Apple iBook Store, Barnes and Noble, Google Play Store. Also available with a subscription on Bookbeat, Dreame, and Scribd. Enjoy reading, and listening!
