Latest news with #cofounders
Entrepreneur
4 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
How the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs Is Outpacing Us — and Why
Today's founders are flipping the script and redefining how startups are built. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. When I launched my first startup, hustle culture was the playbook. You worked nonstop, obsessed over the product and hoped customers would show up later. Everything revolved around the grind. But the next generation of founders? They're building smarter — not just harder. They're rejecting outdated startup myths, reshaping what success looks like and, frankly, doing it better. Here's what they're getting right — and what every founder should learn from them. Related: How To Use Entrepreneurial Creativity For Innovation They build community before product We used to build first, sell later. The customer was an afterthought. As a result, we built in silos and hoped it resonated. Today's founders flip that. They gather an audience early and then co-create solutions with them. Take LEGO. Even with a global fan base, they invited users to collaborate on designs. That shift from selling to users to building with them turns buyers into loyal advocates and drives better products from day one. They lead with purpose, not just profit For my generation, business started and ended with revenue. Culture, wellbeing and ethics were nice-to-haves — not priorities. But today's founders build companies that stand for something. Whether it's sustainability, mental health or social impact, they align their mission with their market. Profit follows purpose and creates deeper, longer-lasting loyalty. They choose authenticity over polish Back then, founders were expected to be polished and perfectly poised — especially in public. I remember prepping endlessly for interviews, trying to appear "flawless." Now? Founders are showing up as themselves. No suits, no script, just transparency. And audiences love them for it. People don't want curated personas — they want someone real they can relate to. They use data as a compass, not a crutch We treated data like gospel. If the numbers said no, the conversation ended. But younger founders use data more intuitively. It's a compass — not a cage. They combine analytics with gut instinct and on-the-ground feedback, leading to more human-centered decisions and better company cultures. They start digital and scale smart We defaulted to physical spaces, then added digital as an extra. Today's founders do the opposite. They build digital-first businesses — fast to launch, easier to test and scale and designed to reach global audiences from day one. They prioritize inclusion from the start Our hiring playbook focused on "culture fit." Today's leaders prioritize diversity of thought, background and experience — not as a checkbox but as a core strength. The result? More creativity, stronger teams and products that speak to broader markets. They're not afraid to say, 'I don't know' Founders used to believe they had to be the smartest person in the room. Decisions were top-down. Feedback was limited. Now, the best leaders are learners. They listen, ask, adapt and bring their teams into the process. That humility isn't a weakness — it's a competitive edge. Related: Gen Z Is Quitting Corporate for a Different Kind of Business Opportunity: 'The W-2 World Doesn't Hold the Same Allure' The future belongs to the flexible The game has changed. Startups aren't won by those who work the longest hours or chase the biggest valuations. They're won by those who lead with intention, build with empathy and adapt with the times. If you're still building the way we used to, it's time to evolve. The future belongs to founders who listen more, assume less and build not just for their users, but with them. Ready to break through your revenue ceiling? Join us at Level Up, a conference for ambitious business leaders to unlock new growth opportunities.
CNA
7 days ago
- Health
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - The Wellness Hour - Healthier hair for wellness
Ever heard of a hair filler that's not Botox? Hui Wong and Becky Leng, co-founder of Bubble Blow Bar, dive into what's really behind stronger, healthier strands - from in-salon treatments to daily habits that keep your hair happy.
Bloomberg
16-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Manus AI's ‘De-China' Playbook Is a Trap
When Chinese startup Manus previewed an artificial intelligence agent earlier this year, it went mega-viral. It came on the heels of DeepSeek, when global excitement over China's AI breakthroughs was at a fever pitch, and nobody wanted to miss out on the next surprise hit. Now, Manus is doing everything it can to sever any ties to the mainland. It relocated its headquarters to Singapore, and its three co-founders have made the move abroad as well. Butterfly Effect, the company behind Manus, reportedly eliminated all its China-based jobs last week. It has also scrubbed content from domestic social media platforms Weibo and Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), despite maintaining an active presence on X. Users in China trying to access the site this week were met with the message that it's 'not available in your region,' a departure from a previous memo stating that the Chinese version was under development.
Forbes
11-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Turning Point: Understanding The Importance Of Employee Support Programs Changed My Leadership
My leadership journey took a significant turn when I realized that the well-being of my team was inextricably linked to our collective success. I think every leader and every company has been impacted by the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, our mission should be to carry what we learned during that time regarding the role of mental health in our workforce into the future. Looking back on the early days of forming my prior company, Ripple Health Group, it feels like a lifetime ago. Yet, the experiences from that intense period continue to shape my leadership today. It started with just three of us, my two co-founders and I, full of the exhilarating chaos that comes with building something from the ground up. We were creating structure where none existed, trying to convince early hires to join a vision. It was the 'founders' journey.' And then? The world shifted with the onset of COVID-19. Suddenly, our small, tightly knit team was completely remote. We had rented an office that we barely used. The human connection that fuels collaboration and innovation was strained. We tried to maintain it through technology, but as we grew from three to nearly 30 people in a short span, I noticed a subtle but concerning shift. The energy felt different. The informal chats before meetings and the quick check-ins were largely gone, replaced by the precise start and end times of video calls. Think about those few minutes before and after a meeting starts—the social piece and connection of 'chit-chat.' The social connection was deeply strained. I then had a pivotal realization. While we were focused on building our business, the very foundation of our success—our people—were navigating unprecedented challenges. Many were single, living in apartments, struggling with the lack of human connection. Or people were trying to homeschool their kids while juggling Zoom meetings and their full workload! The initial novelty of slowing down and reconnecting with family, which was the only silver lining for some, had given way to the isolation and stress of a prolonged pandemic. The results of APA's 2023 Work in America™ Survey confirmed that mental health is really important to our team members: We recognized the struggle our team was facing and decided that something needed to change. We started doing things that now seem so simple but were transformative at the time. We met in parks for socially distanced walks, gathered in backyards while maintaining distance. These informal gatherings were a turning point for me as a leader. I saw firsthand the relief and renewed energy that came from simply connecting as humans, not just as colleagues on a screen. It became clear that fostering a supportive environment wasn't just a 'nice-to-have;' it was essential for our team's well-being and, ultimately, our productivity. This experience at Ripple during COVID-19 fundamentally shifted my perspective on leadership. I realized that true leadership extends beyond setting strategy and hitting metrics. It involves creating a culture of care and actively supporting the holistic well-being of your team. The informal chats we had lost in the remote environment were actually crucial for building rapport and understanding what was truly going on with our people. When Ripple merged with Calm, I was particularly appreciative of the kindness and mindfulness embedded in their remote culture. The use of simple gestures, such as heart emojis in chats, might seem insignificant, but they contribute to a more human and supportive online environment. Drawing on our experiences at Ripple and observing the culture at Calm, I understood the importance of being intentional about fostering connection, especially in a remote or hybrid world. For example, we implemented programs at Ripple, like encouraging 'walk in other people's shoes' coffee sessions, whether virtual or in-person, to foster understanding and connection across different disciplines. This literally meant meeting for coffee or taking a walk together, whether short and informal or a little more intense, we wanted to foster connection. We also recognized the value of those first five minutes of a meeting for informal check-ins. My leadership journey took a significant turn when I realized that the well-being of my team was inextricably linked to our collective success. Employee support services can take many forms, including mental health services such as counseling, stress management, and therapy sessions; employee assistance programs (EAPs), which offer confidential support for personal issues like family, financial, legal, or substance abuse concerns; wellness programs; and crisis support. What I do know is that leaders need to recognize that connection is essential and that supporting our people through EAPs and even simple initiatives like remembering to include space for pleasantries and conversation before meetings is important to our collective mental health.
Entrepreneur
09-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Co-CEOs Sound Great — Until They're Not
Two co-founders often think they can share the executive responsibilities as co-CEOs. This article will teach you why that is typically never going to work out as planned and will simply cause grief for the co-CEOs, staff and your investors. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Oftentimes, two co-founders think it is a good idea to share CEO responsibilities as co-CEOs. The logic is that they can separate their roles and responsibilities, with one person leading certain departments (e.g., sales and marketing) and the other person leading other departments (e.g., technology and operations). The reality is, this is a pretty bad idea. The business should only have one leader at a time who can "lead the ship" and make sure everything is perfectly coordinated across the entire company. This article will teach you the potential pitfalls of a co-CEO strategy. Related: 6 Ways to Successfully Run Your Company With a Co-President Lack of a sole vision/control Anytime you add additional people to a decision-making process, that is most certainly going to involve you making some sort of compromise, where you are not doing exactly what you would have done if you were a stand-alone CEO. On minor points, it probably doesn't matter. But if it is important strategic-level points you are compromising, you end up diluting your own personal instincts and convictions. And it is those same instincts and convictions that are often the difference between good outcomes and average outcomes. You never want to be in a position of "managing towards the happy middle-ground." Lack of one sole voice within the team When there are two leaders, and those people are not necessarily in 100% alignment on the vision, they may be saying conflicting things to the team in terms of the directions they are providing to the staff. That can create a lot of confusion among team members, as they are unclear on whose voice to listen to the most, as they are both co-CEOs. And worse, it makes it look like the co-CEOs are not in alignment and are not communicating well with each other, which makes the team nervous that leadership at the top doesn't know what they are doing. Lack of a tie-breaker What happens when the two co-CEOs cannot agree on a topic? There is no one there to break the tie. Which either creates a level of paralysis where no decision gets made and the work doesn't get done at all. Or, it requires one of the co-CEOs to back down and agree to the other CEO (usually with the louder voice and personality winning). And that can create resentment towards the other person who is constantly not getting their opinions listened to or acted upon. Related: The Pros and Cons of the Co-CEO Model Different management styles could cause friction No two people are exactly the same; what happens when there are philosophical-level differences in management approach? Let's say one of the co-CEOs is a "top-down" strategic level thinker who likes to "see the big picture forest," and the other co-CEO is a "bottom-up" execution level thinker who likes to "live in the trees." Those two styles are completely different ways to make decisions and can easily "ruffle the feathers" of the two co-CEOs over time, forcing them to think and act in ways that are not their preference. You lose control of half of the business If you are the "Sales & Marketing" leading co-CEO, that doesn't mean you don't have opinions on how "Technology & Operations" is being run by the other co-CEO. But by dividing up the responsibilities, you are basically handing off all decisions in those other departments to the other co-CEO. If you trust the other person to operate alone in their silo, that is fine. But what happens when you have a fundamental disagreement on how those other departments are being operated? You can communicate that to your co-CEO to try and fix it, but it is ultimately up to them to make the desired changes you want, which they may or may not do. Your co-CEO refuses to stay "in their swim lane" Even though you may have divided up the management responsibilities with your co-CEO, that doesn't mean they will always stay in their "swim lane." CEOs who like to lead and control typically have a really hard time giving up control to anyone else. And when that "likes to control" co-CEO, starts drifting into the "swim lane" of their other co-CEO, having to have input on every decision in their departments, that will really piss off the co-CEO. At that point, you don't really have a co-CEO structure at all, with one person needing to control all decisions. That will end up very badly. Related: 4 Things Successful Leaders Know About Their Business Limits your exit options When it comes time to sell your business, the new buyer would prefer to have one CEO be their sole decision maker, who sits on their board and works with the investors. Also, when you are ready to sell, your co-CEO may not be ready to sell. Now, you are stuck owning and working in a business that you no longer want to be working in. Or worse, you miss "your open window" to sell, and market conditions change by the time your co-CEO is finally ready to sell, but now the window has closed, and you can't sell. You never want to be in a situation when you can't get an exit for your equity, handcuffed by a co-CEO's opinion, when you see an exit as the right path forward. Closing thoughts Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of the challenges at hand when you are considering a co-CEO setup for your business. There are examples where co-CEOs have worked together perfectly — think of the Google founders (Sergey Brin and Larry Page). But more often than not, it ends up not working out very well at all — think the Salesforce executives (Marc Benioff first with Keith Block and then with Bret Taylor). So, if you are considering this co-CEO path, buyer beware, as it is ripe with potential pitfalls and most likely will not end up working well for the co-CEOs, the staff or your investors.
