Episode 6: Question Everything: Hurdles are Just Things in Your Mind with Dilip DaSilva

Dilip DaSilva is an entrepreneur who in 2001 launched Tribal Fusion, the first business under Exponential Interactive and who most recently launched VDX.tv. As a single founder, he wrote the software that underpins their advertising technology and then led the company through their global expansion as well as the constant evolution of their products to match the rapid changes in consumer technology and media consumption habits.

Starting, Building and Sustaining a Company for over 20 years

· Building, designing and the idea stuff is only 5% of what it really takes to build a company; there's a lot of grind to making sure a company can survive and thrive @3:59

· Launching a company during the dot.com bust @4:54

· Turning down VC and private equity money and the advantage of being a private company @9:32, 10:43

· Money is not the ultimate objective; never make decisions based on money, instead focus on doing the right thing @12:35

Becoming a Leader While Building a Company 

· From software developer to leading people: “I had never managed anyone. In fact, I was afraid to talk to a group of more than five people; everything I learned about running a company, I had to learn on the job.” @7:35, 8:02

· Trust your instincts and intuition about how to treat people, how to build a company @8:45

· Create trust and empathy with employees @20:57, 21:55

· Be transparent with people, if you need to turn things around, you need everyone’s help @20:27, 21:04

Challenging Times Give a Competitive Advantage

· The hurdles you have are just things in your own mind @7:35, 8:25

· Challenging times are a good opportunity to question everything; people are open to change @14:05, 14:33, 18:19, 22:04, 23:00

· Identifying innovative solutions to enable the company to survive during the pandemic @15:23

· Give people the opportunity to try out different roles, think differently about promotion @23:25, 25:40

· Get involved in every role; not to do that job but to see what's going on, to inform strategy @24:18, 25:33

Keys to Success

· The most important thing a leader should be doing is thinking, not running around doing stuff, do the most important thing, get good at ignoring stuff @32:28

· To be successful: don't give up, have high endurance for pain, keep on fighting, be quick at making decisions with limited information, be fearless, take risks, be aware of weaknesses @28:09

· Meditation is like brushing your teeth for your mind: it makes you three times more productive, helps you maintain balance, it reduces poor responses @29:22

· Your most valuable asset is your attention; we're losing a lot of our potential wasting time on consuming stuff @31:14 

· It's not about being a person of color but do you have the support structure to take risks @34:10

To learn more about my work in executive coaching, leadership development and team effectiveness check out my website, connect with me on LinkedIn or email me at winnie@winnifred.org.

Reach out and tell me what was helpful about today’s episode or any suggestions you have for my show.