Today we have Andrew Wilkinson (@awilkinson) of Tiny. Tiny is a holding company started by Andrew that buys “wonderful internet businesses” with the intention of holding them forever (akin to Berkshire Hathaway). Altogether, Tiny’s businesses do high 8-figures in revenue and employ close to 400 people across 20 companies. If you want to know more about his background, Andrew was interviewed on our podcast so give Episode #63 a listen. Today he answers: How do you find CEO's that you can trust, You've mentioned Warren Buffet a lot, any other leaders you look up to?, Is “company building” a repeatable process? What % of it can be automated?, Can you recommend your favorite business books?, What is your biggest failure and what did you learn from it?, What is a core attribute you look for when you hire somebody?, How do you make connections with other entrepreneurs while residing in a non-startup centric city?, How much of your investments are made up of personal capital vs. OPM (Other People’s Money)?, During your time at MetaLab, what was the best way to acquire clients?, Are you taking Buffett's advice and reading 500 pages a day?, As a person, how have you evolved over the years?, How do you start a fund with money made from an agency?, What's the required mindset shift from running one business to delegating a team to run multiple?, If you internalize one principal into your kids, what would it be?, When you built your house, what are some things that could have made the frustrations easier?, Can I skip building an agency and go straight into investing? and What's the worst & best advice you get from people who tell you how to become successful?. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The ideal CEO for a business should have prior experience in a similar industry and should be capable of replicating the same growth strategies that they implemented in their prior role. Prior acquaintance with the candidate is a great way to assess their suitability for the job.
This episode features an experienced entrepreneur sharing the tips he's picked up after building and owning dozens of companies, as well as discussing his appreciation for Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. He also answers a listener's question concerning the repeatability of company building.
The speaker shares the lessons he learned from a costly and embarrassing business failure and why it made him appreciate and focus more on internet-based businesses. He also emphasizes the challenges of running brick-and-mortar businesses compared to online businesses.
The importance of finding the right people for your business, balancing focus on external factors with internal goals, and differentiating between creative and operational roles.
In this podcast, the host discusses the importance of having real business experience before buying a business. They also emphasize how the only role of money is to protect oneself and give financial freedom instead of seeing businesses as mere spreadsheets.
The podcaster concludes their show, apologizing for not being able to answer all the audience's questions, and thanks listeners for tuning in.