Associated Northcliffe Digital
Inma Martinez: 7 tips for tech entrepreneurs
Had a great day hanging out with entrepreneur Inma Martinez this Sunday. In addition to being one of the few people I know with a favorite pet dinosaur, Inma founded and CEO-ed a number of tech start-ups, often in relation with 3i. Time magazine named her one of the top people in European technology and she is currently business development strategist at Associated Northcliffe Digital.
Inma offered 7 tips for entrepreneurs:
1- Hold no meeting longer than 30 minutes.
2- Insist that everyone think through solutions to their problems that can either get a “yes” or “no”.
3- When dealing with younger employees, make them clones of yourself, following the model of a Michelin chef. Give them the recipe so that they know how you like your omelette and can make it over and over again. It will make them comfortable in know what you expect. Once they know how to make that one omelette, they will start improving on the omelette in ways you could never have expected.
4- Start work at 8am, so that you get things done before everyone arrives.
5- Switch off (mobile phone OFF) at 7pm to learn a language or pursue interests outside work.
6- Stay friends with everyone, including investors who drop you. Life can take strange turns.
7- Embrace change, since it always brings opportunity.
Inma just reacted to this blog posting to add the following:
From my days teaching high school in NYC and Spain I am most keen on the “Tao of the How”
You teach students how to resolve a math problem, how to dissect a Shakespeare play, how to train for track and field competitions… at school, it’s all about the How of Life.
Why should work be different?
Employees and teams get great release from pressure when their leader explains not just what they want done, but how:
They do not need to fret and stress hoping that their guess matches your expectations, so they concentrate totally on execution.
As a leader I care HOW people go about their tasks or else we run into trouble: Insider trading, overworking and staying in the office late.
For me, if someone has to do work too late, etc in order to deliver something for me, there is something awfully wrong.
By teaching the How of Work you are teaching Best Practice which is the best skill one can learn in the work place.
I hope people react to this and offer their own tips and comments on mine!
Debate is so enriching!!!
Inma Martinez
Inma Martinez founded and CEO-ed a number of tech start-ups, often in relation with 3i. Time magazine named her one of the top people in European technology and she is currently business development strategist at Associated Northcliffe Digital.
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