“5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became CEO of The House,” With Gil Gibori

Working harder, longer and faster than anyone else serves as a good example for the team but does not give you the license to hold it against them. You can inspire or demean with your efforts. The line is thin and sometimes hard to see. A good team deserves carrots, never sticks.

I had the pleasure to interview Gil Gibori. Gil’s career has been anything but a straight line. Born in Israel, you can say that entrepreneurship is part of his DNA. He spent the first 10 years of his career as a molecular biologist before concluding that he didn’t have the attention span to stay in science forever. Starting his first consulting company at 31, he went on to become a serial entrepreneur. First, co-founding TTMI, Ltd, a small, unsuccessful technology transfer company that helped companies invest in scientific patents. His role at his first company evolved into founding Mentis LLC, a consulting firm that helped private investors identify life-science innovation. After several years, Gil followed a major national trend toward educational services and founded Chicago Academic, a premium tutoring and test prep firm. He had spent over…