Economics of the Soul

Dave and I were lucky enough to attend Something Independent’s Economics of the Soul business forum this morning and hear the stories of four successful entrepreneurs in various industries. The panel was moderated by our friend Annelise Loevlie from Icelandic.

Featured panelists:

Stefan Ytterborn, Founder/CEO of POC Sports
Chuck Morris, President/CEO of AEGLive
Steve Jones, Co-Founder/Executive Producer of Teton Gravity Research
Jen Brill, Co-Founder/Owner of Silverton Mountain

They recounted their successes, motivations, and experiences finding a niche in the industries of their dreams. Here are some of our favorite points from the discussions:

01. Surround yourself with a good team of people as passionate about what they do as you are. Having a team you can depend on (and have fun with) is great for sharing in your successes and supporting you when times are difficult.

02. Be flexible.

03. If you’re not innovative and wiling to try new things you either shouldn’t be in your business or you will get forced out of it. Your goal isn’t to give people what they want, but to surprise them, to create an experience for them.

04. When you are doing what you love, that love with manifest itself in your work, service, or products because you won’t be able to work any other way.

05. What connects entrepreneurs is that they are romantic: they fall in love with what they do….(and also all that they have their fair share of sleepless nights and overworking).

“If you can be passionate about cement, you can be passionate about anything.” – Annelise (from her mother).