Employee to Entrepreneur

Acknowledgements

A number of times over the past few years I’ve found myself at the intersection of preparation and opportunity (some call this intersection ‘luck’).

Transitioning from roles in big corporate with the likes of EY and Macquarie Bank, in 2013 I found myself at the helm of a modestly funded tech startup, which gave me the opportunity to spend two years immersing myself in anything and everything relating to innovation and entrepreneurship. A subsequent stroke of serendipity led me to found Collective Campus, which has blessed me with the opportunity not only to do the kind of work I most enjoy, but to work with companies, individuals and kids — yes, kids, as part of our Lemonade Stand program — to unlock their potential to create more impact in the world and lead more fulfilling lives.

This experience has also enabled me to spend time on creative pursuits, such as hosting the podcast Future Squared since early 2016. I’ve now published more than 250 episodes and have had the pleasure of speaking with the likes of Adam Grant, Steve Blank, Tim Harford, David Allen, Grant Cardone, Brad Feld, Gretchen Rubin, Tyler Cowen, Rand Fishkin, Alec Ross, Jenny Blake, Karen Dillon and countless other thought leaders across a variety of disciplines. I’ve captured a number of my learnings from these conversations in this book.

I self-published my first two books online and struck a deal with Wiley for this book, my third in as many years. While it hasn’t been easy to build a business ...