Conrad Egusa is the CEO of Publicize and a Global Mentor at 500 Startups. He has been featured in publications including The Financial Times, Bloomberg, and TechCrunch. He is happy to connect on LinkedIn. Follow him @conradegusa.
Who is your hero? (In business, life, or both.)
The person I most admire in business is Elon Musk. His resilience and passion for a higher mission is inspiring to watch.
What’s the single best piece of business advice that helped shape who you are as an entrepreneur today, and why?
The best piece of advice that shaped me is the golden rule, meaning to treat others as you would want to be treated. I believe the key to business is one’s team. If deep down you truly care about your team, you can make mistakes in management and still be OK. The reverse is also true. If you really aren’t emotionally invested in your team, no management book or education can mold you into the right leader for that group.
What’s the biggest mistake you ever made in your business, and what did you learn from it that others can learn from too?
The biggest mistakes I have made weren’t large financial errors. Rather, the mistakes were when I felt there a morally right action to take, and I didn’t take it. Even though these were not large events financially, I still remember each event to this day. I believe the lesson learned is that regardless of the cost, one needs to stay true to his or her core. No amount of money can change this.
What do you do during the first hour of your business day and why?
In the first hour I go over my weekly to-do list, and then I check my team Slack. I make sure to keep referring back to my weekly to-do list to make sure my big goals for the week are completed.
What’s your best financial/cash-flow related tip for entrepreneurs just getting started?
My best cash flow tip is to request to get paid up-front, as opposed to at the end of a contract.
Quick: What’s ONE thing you recommend ALL aspiring or current entrepreneurs do right now to take their biz to the next level?
I recommend all entrepreneurs begin reading for at least one hour a day. If there is one key to success, I believe that reading is it.
What’s your definition of success? How will you know when you’ve finally “succeeded” in your business?
I define success as more of a week-to-week journey, as opposed to a financial number. I believe the work I am doing today and the team I am building are in many ways what I was put on this earth to do.
