How This Accelerator Has Changed Me

In September, 10 companies (Blue Zero Homes being one of them) came together as “instruments of innovation” to work on one of the most complex social problem facing the world; affordable housing. With these instruments, the Impact Hub Austin offered us a platform to work on growth, innovation and knowledge exchange.

The biggest benefits of this accelerator is that it facilitated “supported innovation” which created connections between the accelerator members, stimulated movement at the grassroots (bottom-up) level and links this to policy objectives (top-down) which in-turn stimulated co-creation and multidisciplinary working. Forcing me to meet with people in need from all walks of life, each with their own unique story. It was very humbling.

Rick Warren once said, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” In leadership, it can be tempting to become enamored with status. I have learned that as a business leader I have to be more selfless and more concerned with the well-being of everybody. I have also learned from participating in this accelerator that I:

• Be willing to get in the trenches. Talk to everybody. But more importanly listen to everyone’s story. There are a lot of gems out there.
• Think like a leader, not a manager. A wise person once said, “When I talk to a manager, I get the feeling that they are important. When I talk to a leader, I get the feeling that I am important.”

I have gained a lot of experience with the affordable housing issues. And this accelerator was a “stimulating innovator” to have our affordable housing solution become economically viable and most importantly to be more concerned with the well-being of everybody.