Steinar Henskes on From Founder To CEO podcast

Todd Uterstaedt interviewed Steinar Henskes on the transition from Founder to CEO. He speaks about:

• This quote: “I really took the lean startup approach…I developed a very simple product…sold it to farmers because they were the easiest customers. From the money I earned from that we started to develop more and produce more…so really bootstrapping…”
• This quote: “One trick I discovered….if we had a certain development project…I outsourced to our main contractor…”
• This quote: “I spend my time at hiring, marketing, strategy, and business development…sometimes a little product development.”
• This quote: “The sales funnel is not something that I would not want to manage.”
• Hiring:
  • “In the beginning what was very difficult for me was to get the right people on board on the team….I actually learned…that you should aim for the best and do not compromise.”
  • “Just aim for the best.”
  • “I made…some mistakes hiring people who were not very competent…”
  • “I gave too much responsibility to people who were not up to the job.”
  • “Interns can not be…part of your core team…they should have a project to finish…”
• Granting equity:
  • “When you are successful as a company…people…want a piece of the pie…”
  • Use it to “commit people to a longer period of time.”
  • “Do not make the decision too soon.”