Building a start-up and finding co-founders in a field that isn’t your core competency.

entrepreneur, start-up, inspiring, journey, success, challenges, perseverance, innovation, motivation, lessons, passion, failure, growth, advice, mentorship

Hi, I'm Rainer. I've co-founded a start-up called NewVolt. We are building a national network of charging infrastructure for electric trucks in Australia. We're trying to get the lowest cost of delivered goods from A to B in a net zero world. My background was not electric trucks or renewable energy. It was actually in software and technology. But I had a passion and a drive to start this business because I saw the impact of diesel trucks on this world and the impact of carbon, particularly in the transport industry. So how do you go about it? Well, it isn't always easy. You need to think more abstract about your skills. You need to think that your skills may be having jumped across different verticals from software and technology, being able to understand different fields, being able to learn different things, who you have worked with, how you have worked, the methodologies with which you've worked. These are the things that you can apply to a new start-up or in a completely new field. And then I think correspondingly, searching out for a co-founder is really, really critical, particularly in a new field. And how do you go about that? And how do you know the right person to start a business with? I think there's a lot of ways. I think one thing you need to think about is managing when you have weaknesses and understanding what they are. So it's a self-awareness about your own skills and your knowing how they match up with someone else very well. I have a fantastic co-founder, and many of his skills match with my weaknesses, and many of my skills match with his weaknesses. And it's really interesting because at times that can cause a little bit of angst, and we have very open lines of communication when it does. But in the middle where we overlap, there's absolutely magic. And it could be that I'm very process-driven and he's a little not process-driven. I'm actually more creative in my process-driven. He's actually a little bit more legal. But we have this magic in the middle where we overlap. How can you do some measurement in this space? I mean, this, I think this is really, really interesting to understand your co-founder's motivations. I would recommend a tool called PCM, and it's a fantastic psychological testing tool. I think it's better than my Briggs or any of the other ones. So that's PCM. Check it out. I think it's a wonderful way to understand your motivations and understand potentially your co-founders' motivations as well, and understand what gets you out of bed in the morning, what motivates you, what excites you, and what allows you to move forward together. But also really, really importantly, when this is where I think PCM stands out above others, it enables you to understand when you're in stress or a little bit of a difficult environment, which we all get if we're co-founders, it is unavoidable to feel these things. What PCM allows you to do is understand what you fall back on in those moments. And I think that is really, really critical to understand because we cannot avoid these situations as founders when we're in these difficult times and it gets a little bit stressful or anxious. So what is the core place or the core characteristics that we fall back on when we're in those moments? Really important to understand and how that matches with your other co-founders. I hope I've been of help, but if you want to reach out and talk about one, starting a new business in a completely different vertical from anything you've done before, because that's certainly what I did, I had no background in renewable energy or trucks, or working with co-founders or selecting co-founders and how you overcome some of those obstacles early on, please feel free to reach out.

A defining moment as cofounder in my brand agency sparked a passion to help others navigate the complexities of co-founding. Now I coach cofounders to build successful partnerships Empowering Beyond Borders: My journey to 120 countries inspired the creation of an NGO framework for women in Ghana, transforming product mgmt into mission to achieve impossible Leading must be done right every time. The R.I.G.H.T framework sets you up for success with simple yet effective approach to leading others. Unlock success in a post-career era with Bruce Feiler's insights on 'workquakes' and the essential 'meaning audit.' Reflect and craft a purposeful narrative for personal growth. From a hot dog cart in college to 2 B2B SaaS companies and then a passion pivot to coaching other founders…this is my story. Leadership starts with self care. You can't care for others if you're neglecting yourself. This episode give you simple ways to care for yourself and be a great leader. Y Combinator CEO and Partner Michael Seibel on what makes the top 10% of founders different. The reason to take the plunge into a new venture is also what gets you through the struggles of the first year. Here’s my secret to both as a founder in an uncharted industry. The foundation of leadership is RESPECT. Leaders must respect themselves and others. Respect contributes to life and where there's life, there's growth. From an international student to a global leader, from career at Google UK to TikTok in China, from an introvert to a TEDx speaker, welcome to my life outside the comfort zone. I'm giving you a key to the door of your future will you lock the door or open it? Don't be afraid to take baby steps. Question: What are three things I need right now to launch my business? People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Simon Sinek explains how Apple communicates to inspire action. Do you know your “why” or just your “what”? Starting your day with a few habits stacked on top of each creates momentum for the rest of your day. Do you want to know the secret to building a money generating business from scratch. Listen in. This one tip is your key. What's the one thing you're focusing on? This is my journey from a 13 year professional baseball career to a co-founder of a company designed to develop and place ex athletes into the medical device industry What is branding? Marty Neumeier, an author who helps companies like Apple, Adobe, and Google to build their brands, gives us a crash course on branding. Complacency will eventually hit us all, but what steps can you take right now to combat complacency as a business owner or leader? Value = benefits minus cost. This is a formula that founders and solopreneurs should have a clear understanding of. I have been helping leaders, and emerging leaders to grow in their capacity to communicate better their skills and character. This is step one in this!