Founder Diary – Week 5

No one is ever truly self-made in business. Many who either claim to be or are heralded as, are simply a product of their environment, positive and negative.

I am not interested in what you have achieved, I am far more interested in how you’ve achieved it. Your attitude, hunger and ambition are a far greater indication of your value in business and as a person.

Too many young founders and candidates I meet or receive applications from are solely focused currently on how much they have fundraised in their current or past roles. I couldn’t give a monkey’s. I want to know what you did with that funding, the value you created and the lessons you learned. Fundraising quantum should never be the headline on your CV or profile. It’s amateurish, myopic and misaligned with real business.

Saturday 30th January

Family day. My partner flew into Dubai to see me for a few hours enroute to Mauritius where she sits as a non-exec of a major property fund. She works her butt off day in day out, and it was a wonderfully rare moment that we had to kick back, relax and do nothing but chat drink coffee, eat mountains of avocado & eggs and dream our way aroundthe Hermes Wonderland exhibition.

Sunday 31st January

My first time in Kuwait in about 6 years. The last time I was here I was negotiating the release of my driver and helicopter across the border into Iraq with the chief of Police in Basra. Another story of how not to build a business, that I will save for another day…

Monday 1st February

Red-Eye to London. This trip has swiftly established itself as my weekly commute and as such I’ve pretty much nailed it logistics wise. This Monday was a pretty special one though, arriving in London I was tired, but hugely emboldened. A fresh start, another chance to shift EdAid a quantum leap forward. The London sky was lit up with pink, purple and blue haze. Just the sort of dramatic watercolour that only finest artists can capture. I was gutted my phone had died and I couldnt capture it. Just a little magic moment.

Tuesday 2nd February

It’s always a tough call as a Founder. When do you take the leap from getting out there and generating business in amongst other core roles and when do you as a team bring in someone to focus on growth (in this case volume of corporate partners, and in time quantum of corporate investment in students) and expand your reach?

I dont have the answer yet. We are not actively seeking someone (right now we don’t really know the nature of the beast we want to hire) but it is great to start to press the flesh with people who think differently, and are willing to hustle to get shit done.

I guess above and beyond everything, EdAid needs someone who is willing to work that bit harder than the rest of the pack. This picture taken from my balcony in Dubai kinda sums it up.

Wednesday 5th February

Bake Off just got badass. Our weekly Bake Off went from a purely internal exercise to being a public throw down. This week contestants Zosia Gorska who leads our social media & community development team and Danielle Morrill a kickass Front End developer/designer who came in to meet the team and get to know us a little better.

It was a dead heat on the whole but for me, Zosia’s dryer, less sweet ‘polenta and almond lemon curd cakes’ just won it by a very fine margin.

Note to those of you hiring, try and get any potential short listed candidates to come and meet the team in an informal seting. Personally I wouldn’t do this over beers, as the alcohol becomes a mask. It provides a relaxed level playing field for candidates and the team to get to know each other. We are only in week 1 of this experiment, but I would highly reccommend the Bake Off, team based interview method as part of the hiring journey.

Thursday 4th February

It’s often said that we rarely reach our true potential because we are instinctively creatures of habit. As such it is important that we do whatever we can to test ourselves, push limits and be sure to scare yourself, daily.

Today was spent negotiating the potential purchase of a mixed-use development in the industrial quarter of Digbeth, Birmingham. I have had my eye primed on this site, and unfortunately my heart set on it too. This site would make the most incredible HQ for EdAid outside London as well as preserving, and enhancing an incredibly important part of Britain’s industrial heritage for the next 100 years.

This little Instagram video sums it up nicely…