You know someone is destined for great business success when he asks, “Dad, how do I start my own business?” at age 5.
Giancarlo Maniaci had no trust fund and no college money, but always had his eye on the world of business because of his entrepreneurial father. In fact, his first business was a mortgage company, and he “hated every minute of it.” He soon moved to Merrill Lynch, where “on [his] first day, he stood on a chair and said, ‘I’m gonna be the top sales guy.’” Perhaps unsurprisingly, he actually did become the top sales guy—by about 300-400%.
What stood out to me about Giancarlo was that his story began as the story of a relatively normal person—someone who had interest in business and got a corporate job that he disliked in his 20s. But the striking difference about Giancarlo was that he had the ambition to think beyond his current situation and the drive to make it happen. And even Giancarlo isn’t denying that it can be a grueling process. “Everyone wants financial freedom and to do what they love; the challenge is letting go of something to focus on that. For me, it was hard to focus on something that wasn't paying me," Giancarlo admits.
He recounts that his past wasn’t one of boisterous confidence: “I had made money at an early age… [but] I felt really intimidated going into my space.” So how did Giancarlo achieve his incredible success? He claims to owe a great portion of his success to his “decision to follow my gut and go into a space that I knew nothing about,” because this allowed him to lead his companies correctly. In one instance, he tried to get involved in a solar company, but soon realized that getting “involved in something you're not passionate about was a mistake.” The entrepreneurial mind is incessantly moving, so “we kinda have this ‘SQUIRREL’ thing and we get really distracted if something doesn’t interest us,” Giancarlo says, laughing.
What’s great about these events to me, personally, is when you keep hearing the same ideas; I find it remarkable that although each of these speakers has a completely different set of experiences and background, they all agree a few consistent points that are central and so pivotal to success. In this case, Giancarlo mentioned his experience with two things that we’ve heard from quite a few other presenters: smart money and teamwork.
Giancarlo discussed smart money as one of his biggest business takeaways. “It's all a game, it's a boys club,” he said. “If you get money from Andreessen, you might have to sell to Facebook. Having the right money, the smartest money, can really influence your business.” Though it seems obvious, entrepreneurs are often too quick to give away their business to whoever will offer money, which he cautioned against.
In addition, Giancarlo spoke extensively about his team members. One of his recently successful ventures, TapIt, began with 10-15 “smart, hungry rock stars” that completely changed the future of the company. But I suspect that what really made his teams extraordinary was Giancarlo’s collaborative approach to leadership. Giancarlo believes that “it’s really important for the CEO to get their hands dirty [with their employees] so that they are enabled to focus on the bigger things like vision and strategy” with a solid understanding of what’s going on on the ground level.
His rule of thumb in regards to hiring: don’t hire anyone you wouldn’t want to hang out with for more than eight hours. Because when you think about it, that’s really only one workday! In addition, Giancarlo recommended that if your employee “doesn't love your business as much as you do, you might want to look back and reconsider: have you thought through your strategy?” Strategy is absolutely crucial in a new venture where the vision might not be fleshed out anywhere but the founder’s head, and this can affect the company culture and the employee’s work drastically. “If your employees feel lost they, aren't going to be working to their entire potential; it’s [crucial] to be the gps and the navigation to guide them and give them direction,” Giancarlo emphasized.
On a similar note, Giancarlo advised that entrepreneurs always remember that “a CEO is in charge of selling to his customers, selling his vision to employees, selling to investors, and eventually selling his company.” Interestingly, Giancarlo extensively discussed planning your exit from day one; he even recommended that all entrepreneurs start “planning your exit like your entrance, working backwards from a goal to action with a whiteboard and a timeline of two years.” According to his experience, it’s important to “Stop and go through and create a really thoughtful presentation—not for investors, but for yourself. Create a full blown deck for yourself, and [use it as a] lightly drawn road map to give you a vision.”
Personally, I think Giancarlo offered some unique, awesome business insight for every stage of a new business. What was your biggest takeaway from Giancarlo Maniaci’s interview? Join us at the next Startup Grind OC event for some more awesome business insight!
Written by Rafah Ali