It was an honor to have Dane Atkinson, Founder and CEO of Odeko, on the podcast. He’s been involved with 25 companies over the course of his career. He’s been CEO of 7 of those. He embodies the entrepreneurial spirit in a way few others do. He truly views entrepreneurship as a force for good. A way for us to create new opportunities and make a positive impact on the world.
Every conversation I’ve had with Dane since I met him 6 months ago has left me inspired, motivated to make a difference in this world and with some new operating idea that I can bring to the companies I work with (thanks for the intro Michael E Murphy).
This interview is gold. I guarantee you’ll learn something. Here are my highlights:
- Cultivate a Wartime Mentality - Anyone who has been operating a company over the last 5 knows how hard it’s been. The companies that have made it through and have even thrived through these challenging times have had a different level of agility, resilience, decisiveness and ability to solve problems. Dane shared how to create this wartime mentality in peace times to make sure the way of operating is deeply embedded in the company.
- Create a board dynamic where it is clear “you’re parenting collaboratively” - Odeko went through a massive pivot (it’s the reason they’re so successful today). I’ve actually seen a number of founders who know they have to make this kind of pivot but won’t do it because they would be taking the company in a direction that is very different from what they originally pitched their investors. Dane talks about the expectations he sets with investors, why he had the confidence to make that pivot and what he wished he knew earlier in his career when facing similar situations.
- The importance of leveraging the expertise of others who have seen the journey before - When you train with experts your learning curve is 10x of what it would be if you went at it alone. Mentors/experts can point out the challenges you’re going to face before you face them, can give you an example to model yourself off of, can help you answer questions that are seemingly impossible for you to answer but easy for them.
- Founder/startup life = Being a Pirate - “We are pirates, we are a small ship in a sea of giants. All of us startups are a horde of millions of little ships sailing through these seas. Trying our own way, finding our own maps with X's on them, and enjoying the journey and battling the imperial empire of huge established companies”. My favorite analogy.
There was so much more: How Odeko invented a new milk based on customer feedback, embracing radical transparency, trusting your team to execute, focusing on meaningful work and so much more.
You can listen to the full episode of Not Another CEO Podcast here:
YouTube: https://lnkd.in/epFwuuFz
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/emKyjsBF
Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/eyXUJHvn
