Learnings from The Architect of Digital Identity

What made the interview so impactful? Here are the thoughts that inspired me, in no particular order:

• Feed your brain with the right books to overcome its limitations.  Timmu‘s parents provided him with various books during his teenage years, focusing on self-help, business, mindset, and meditation. Our brain is our biggest obstacle; the sooner we acquire information and habits to unblock it, the faster and greater our success.
  
  
• A daily schedule or routine is a significant aid. Having a schedule helps prioritize what’s important.  Timmu regularly woke up at 5:30 AM, completed his daily training, attended meetings, and followed with meditation and deep work. Success consists of small steps and progress over time.
  
  
• Focus on what you can control.  Timmu emphasized that while you can’t control everything, focus on things You control, don’t worry about the things You don’t. For example, if sales are down, send more lead emails. If you need more funding, revise the VC deck and send it out daily. Each step teaches and advances your goals.
  
  
• Show up every day and choose your attitude. Lead by example. Nothing moves unless you do, and with the right attitude, things will progress. You can choose your attitude and decide to show up and do what you can control. If you don’t show up, no one else will.
  
  
• Remind yourself why you are doing it. Inner motivation and desire stem from understanding why your actions matter. Without this motivation, enthusiasm fades quickly. Reminding yourself of your purpose keeps the fire burning.
  
  
• Choose your team based on the passion in their eyes. In a startup, you may not know if your hires are good, but you can hire for attitude. Ensure their passion aligns with your principles. If not, or if it’s feigned, let them go.
  
  
• Expect challenges to arise. Challenges can’t be controlled, but they help you grow, learn, and improve. Expect difficulties, expect solutions, and maintain a positive attitude.
  
  
• Don’t overthink; address issues as they occur. Focus on what you can control. You can’t anticipate everything, so deal with issues as they happen. Step back and assess whether the challenge is truly insurmountable.
  
  
• You will find the right people when needed. By sharing, asking, and listening, the right people will find you, and you will find them. Take the first step, be open and friendly, and maintain a positive mindset.
  
  
• Share, ask, and listen. People enjoy talking and sometimes listening. Be a role model, ask questions, show interest, and share your experiences. Open and friendly communication fosters new friendships, colleagues, and business partnerships.
  
  
• Network without a specific intention. Networking without a purpose is a powerful tool. Don’t meet people to impress or sell to them; meet them to get to know them and share your knowledge. Without the pressure of a specific agenda, networking becomes more natural.
  
  
• People are eager to mentor when the topic excites them. Finding a mentor is a numbers game. People like to help others, especially in areas where they can grow and are passionate. If you never ask, you’ll never know who can assist you and how. There are countless potential mentors—reach out to them.
  
  
• Mentors can become exhausted; replacing them is acceptable. It’s okay to replace a mentor once they’ve provided all they can. Be open, clear, and grateful for their help, and find another mentor.
  
  
• Regular meditation practices are highly beneficial. Meditation is a valuable practice that helps calm the mind, clear thoughts, and maintain stability. Like any practice, it requires routine and becomes easier with time. Meditation is beneficial—give it a try.
  
  
• Read extensively. There are countless great books filled with wisdom. Read as much as you can; it’s a skill to be developed and mastered. The more you read, the better you become. Here are a few recommendations:
  • Marcus Aurelius – “Meditations“
  • Geoff Smart and Randy Street – “Who“
  •  Ash Maurya – “Running Lean“
  • Ben Horowitz -“The Hard Thing About Hard Things“
    
    
• Engage in AI-related businesses now; the future is uncertain. If you’re considering starting something, explore AI-related opportunities. The industry is rapidly evolving, and we don’t know what the world will look like in 5 or 10 years, so act now.
  
  
• AI is currently a hot sector with significant investment; capitalize on the momentum. Being an industry leader means money is flowing into AI. It’s easier to secure investments in AI-related ventures, so take advantage of this opportunity.
  
  
• Entrepreneurs should bridge the gap between AI capabilities and real business problems. This statement provides guidance for generating business ideas. Identify gaps and find solutions.
  
  
• Success and failure are not singular events; the journey is the reward. No single event will make a business skyrocket or plummet. There are successes and failures, but focusing on any single one is unhelpful. Enjoy the journey; it’s what will be memorable.
  
  
• Take ownership and responsibility. As a founder or business owner, the ownership and responsibility lie solely with you. There’s no one to blame or point fingers at. There are no right or wrong choices or decisions; every step contributes to growth. Showing ownership and taking responsibility, as well as encouraging the team to do the same, is the cornerstone for great things to happen.
  
  
• With a great product, marketing becomes secondary. For Ready Player Me, marketing was secondary because they focused on building a superior product first. The cycle looked like this: build fast -> ship to customers for feedback -> iterate on feedback -> build a new version fast -> ship to customers for feedback. With this build-ship-build approach, the focus is on creating a product customers want and love. If your customers love what you do, they will share it. Word-of-mouth marketing is cost-effective, and referrals come from the users themselves. Build an awesome product with love for your customers, and marketing largely solves itself.
  
  
• Focus on developing and delivering to customers for feedback, then iterate repeatedly. Every cycle improves your product. The approach of build-ship-build was explained as part of “with a great product, marketing becomes secondary.” But it is such a crucial point that it deserves its own mention. Focus on building a superior product first. The cycle looks like this: build fast -> ship to customers for feedback -> iterate on feedback -> build a new version fast -> ship to customers for feedback. With this build-ship-build approach, the focus is on creating a product customers want and love.
  
  
• Share your ideas and thoughts without fear of them being stolen—trust your instincts. Fresh founders often think their idea is so special (and it is) that everyone else might want to steal it. Surely there are such people, and surely there is such a risk. What  Timmu thinks is:
  • First, always share. Share for feedback, listen, ask questions, answer, listen, and share with as many people as possible without worrying about the risk of the idea being stolen. The reason is that the more you share, the more you will build an internal flame, and the more you will understand what customers want. Hence, sharing is a natural part of development. Also, an idea can be executed in many forms—the vision in your head and heart is unique anyway and can’t be stolen.
    
    
  • Second, you can always choose how much you share. If you feel uncomfortable, ask for an NDA (Non-Disclosure agreement) to be signed first—templates are available online.