Many entrepreneurs get into business dreaming of an exit.
If that dream is your dream, then this interview could make it a reality.
Few are better suited to show you how than my latest guest on The Wisdom Of… Show, Carl Hartmann. He is a prominent, multi-award-winning Australian serial entrepreneur best known for his work in co-founding Temando, Compono, and Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Spirit Co., as well as his involvement as an investor & board member of a range of leading technology companies.
In addition, Carl is the adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the University of Queensland and the winner of several awards, including the IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year Australia, Asia Pacific and global runner up, EY Entrepreneur of the Year Regional Winner, and National Finalist, amongst others.
Throughout our conversation, his incomparable expertise, profound insight, and unique perspectives on scaling companies from $0 to $10MM+ to exit and beyond showed us that the road to an exit is paved with timeless wisdom.
Wisdom that, once embodied, will help you make the most of your entrepreneurial journey, whether you’re the founder of a small business or a multinational enterprise.
Want more groundbreaking insights on how to grow your business to an exit and beyond? Watch the full interview with Carl Hartmann now.
Look For The Overlooked
As I sat down with Carl Hartmann, I couldn’t help but start the conversation by discussing the myriad of companies he started as a serial entrepreneur and, more importantly, how he determined which ideas were worth his time.
“The commonality with all the companies I’ve founded has been I see a problem, and I want to solve it.”
Now, this insight seems relatively simple, but not only is the beauty often found in the seemingly basic, but after digging deeper, we uncovered a crucial piece of earned wisdom.
This came up when we discussed Compono, his data-driven talent discovery and nurturing platform, which has raised $30 million in funding.
As a CEO who had hired extensively, he would examine the billion-dollar organizations around him and ask himself, “What are the resumes others would overlook and the cover letters they wouldn’t read?”
He was looking for candidates whose genuine capacity for greatness was not recognized because their resumes didn’t tick all the boxes. This led him to create a Compono, which assesses a prospective hire’s skills, qualifications, and cultural fit, including the attributes and soft skills that can’t be taught.
This concept of looking for the overlooked guided Carl’s decision-making process through all of the companies he founded—from Temando, which disrupted the delivery industry, to Lyre’s Spirit Co, which has shaken up the non-alcoholic beverage market, which has raised over $80 million and become the most awarded company in its vertical.
It’s not just about solving a problem.
It’s about finding the problem that is being unaddressed, the people who feel overlooked, and the solutions the world is silently screaming for.
Focus On Outputs Over Hours
As we continued our conversation, we looked more closely at how managing talent and teams changes when running a large company across several countries.
“What we’re always trying to do is hire people who know how to executive with a global mandate,” he began.
“I’ve always struggled with the corporate culture of clocking in and out. That may work if you have a small team in one country, but when it comes to a large team across multiple timezones, it’s more about output over hours.”
According to Carl, your team should focus on achieving the objective rather than fitting their effort into a pre-determined time frame.
This revolutionary concept of valuing output over hours ensures that the right things are being measured and that what’s being measured in terms of KPIs directly contributes to the initiatives at hand and the organization’s mission in terms of meaningful outcomes rather than just inputs.
Embodying Calm In The Chaos
Next, we pivoted from the makings of a high-performance team to that of a great CEO, especially in leading themselves and others through chaos and uncertainty.
“The common thing I’ve noticed with all successful entrepreneurs is they all have this unwavering belief that everything will be okay, no matter what obstacles they face.”
This almost stubborn belief that everything will be alright in the end becomes increasingly valuable the less things go according to plan—which, as Carl has experienced and often tells others in his lectures, is pretty typical:
“The reality is, whatever you think it’s gonna take, it’ll take longer and cost more, with contingencies upon contingencies.”
This reflects the disconnect between many entrepreneurs’ expectations when going into business and the reality that achieving great things is rarely, if ever, simple, and even if simple, certainly not easy.
This touches on one of the grand illusions of today’s entrepreneurial landscape, which is obsessed with tips, hacks, and shortcuts. While the journey will generally take longer than expected, the “shortcut” will nearly always lead you down the longer road.
But “when you have that unrelenting tenacity of belief, people rally behind that,” concluded Carl, showcasing that unwavering realistic optimism can be more than just a powerful mindset to encourage innovation through uncertainty for yourself; it can also inspire others who may not share your risk tolerance.
Post-Exit Wisdom
As we wrapped up our conversation, we shifted the focus back to Carl’s multiple projects and ventures, especially on the wisdom he garnered following his exit with Temando, which I’ve distilled down to a few key gems:
“It takes someone to start but an entire team to finish.”
According to Carl, one of the key pieces of emotional maturity as a founder is knowing when to supplement yourself with others. For example, if you’re a more technical founder, it will help to partner with a frontman, and if you’re the face of a company, it will help to hire a back-office team that can execute.
“Some will be with you at the end. Others will have to tap out.”
One of the inevitabilities of leading a team post-exit is understanding the natural attrition of talent. He used the analogy of asking your team to run a marathon when they have only run a 5k. Some will cross the finish line with sore muscles, and others will have to tap out halfway through.
“Until you regain your fitness, you never realize how much it matters.”
While running his first company, Carl reflected on how he unintentionally sacrificed his health. During COVID, however, he could focus on reprioritizing his bodily well-being. Only then did he understand how crucial having a well-trained and well-treated body was to his overall performance.
As an inspiring testament to the power of entrepreneurial grit and innovative spirit, I immensely enjoyed my opportunity to meet with Carl Hartmann. His revolutionary journey spanned multiple industries and was brimming with insights, which we can all learn from, just as I have.
This potent and timely wisdom shows us that while anticipating our first (or next) exit may be exciting, the wisdom gleaned along the way is truly priceless.
If you enjoyed what you read, I encourage you to watch this episode.
Immerse yourself in Carl’s profound wisdom and unforgettable drive as an Australian entrepreneurial icon.
Join the transformation and conversation…
Watch the full interview with Carl Hartmann on The Wisdom Of… Show
And don’t miss Simon Bowen’s transformative masterclass on unlocking your hidden genius. Your future self will thank you.
