Founders’ Fights, Firm Foundations, and Fermented Foods ??
TL;DR
STARTUPS
???? Is the EU killing startups?
?? There is something rotten in Europe. Besides our perverted love for regulation and bureaucracy, we’re also managing to suffocate startups systemically.
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To get European funding distributed by Croatian institutions and designed for startups, the startups have to be profitable (?!).?
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[Dramatic pause to allow a major WTF moment for our US-born friends.]
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Brussel-based bureaucrats strike again with their complete detachment from the real world.
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Startups in the early stages shouldn’t be profitable, people! The goal of startups is to develop innovative products and grow.
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To add insult to injury, successful startups from the region are dragged through the mud by journalists. Lately, these great minds have discovered that some startups/scaleups ARE NOT PROFITABLE?!
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Somebody call the Brussels finance police.
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Again, only in Europe will you find semi-literate hacks evaluating the morals and business logic of successful entrepreneurs.
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In some startups, the absence of profitability is a systemic flaw. If buy something for $5 and sell it for $2, this is not good.
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But in most startups, the absence of profit is a feature, not a bug. Remember Amazon, anyone?
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If we don’t pull ourselves together - Europe will become a Disneyland for people from successful continents. But hey, at least we can make good espresso, so our future's secure!
MANAGEMENT
??You're the boss, not everyone's friend.?
Once you’re the boss, not everyone’s going to love you. (I know, shocking, unimaginable). And guess what? That’s fine.?
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This HBR article nails it — leadership isn’t about being everyone’s best friend. You’ve got decisions to make, and yeah, some people are going to be ticked off.?
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But you’re not Sandra Bullock, here to win the Miss Congeniality title, right??
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The truth is, if you’re focused on keeping everyone happy, you’re not really leading; you’re just pleasing people.?
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The article is spot on about the importance of thinking long-term.?
Yes, some folks will be annoyed in the short term, but you’ve got bigger things to worry about than whether everyone likes you.?
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And here’s where I’d add something: empathy. The article leans toward getting a thicker skin, which is true, but it’s also about balancing that with empathy.?
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Being a leader doesn’t mean being cold or dismissive.
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You’ve got to understand where people are coming from, even when you’re making those tough calls. That’s how you get people on board, even when they don’t agree with you.?
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Let’s also talk about conflict, shall we? It’s going to happen, eventually. And guess what? The world isn’t going to implode because of it.?
A bit of friction can be exactly what your team needs to actually get better.?
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So if you’re tiptoeing around trying to keep everything “smooth,” you’re just missing the point.?
Conflict is not your enemy — stagnation is.?
At the end of the day, it’s not about being liked—it’s about earning respect.
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And sometimes that means not being everyone’s favorite.
HERO OF THE DAY
?? How Hamdi Ulukaya Built Chobani Into a Billion-Dollar Empire
In 2005, Hamdi Ulukaya, a Kurdish immigrant from Turkey, opened a piece of junk mail and saw an ad for an abandoned yogurt factory in upstate New York.
He had no business background, but he had a gut feeling.
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So, with a $700,000 loan and a whole lot of nerve, he bought the factory.
The goal was to create real yogurt—less sugary, more nutritious, and something Americans hadn’t tasted yet.
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He hired four workers from the old plant, and in 2007, Chobani launched.
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The yogurt didn’t just sell; it exploded.
Within a few years, Chobani claimed over 20% of the U.S. yogurt market.
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But here’s where Hamdi stands apart from the typical billionaire: he never forgot where he came from.
Growing up in a rural part of Turkey, he saw firsthand how big corporations left behind factory workers and small communities.
When he started Chobani, his mission was clear: he wouldn’t become the type of person he grew up resenting.
From day one, Hamdi promised that his employees—the people who built the company—would be at the center of everything, financially included.
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He even gave them a 10% equity stake in Chobani.
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“We broke all the records,” he says, “because our people always found a way to make things happen.”
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The deep connection to his workers, his roots, and his refusal to leave anyone behind built Chobani into the powerhouse it is today.
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Hamdi’s mission doesn’t stop at yogurt.
In 2016, he founded the Tent Partnership for Refugees to help companies hire refugees and offer them opportunities to rebuild their lives. For him, business is about more than profits.
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Hamdi changed lives, proving that doing business with heart can lead to extraordinary success.
Or as he puts it:?
“I didn’t want to become the kind of person I grew up hating. My mission was to make sure Chobani never followed in the footsteps of those who left people behind.”
See you in a month ??