How can one develop a business by learning from other people’s mistakes competently?
This is the topic of discussion with Sasha Garcia, founder of The CEO.News and a seasoned entrepreneur, board advisor, and business consultant.
Sasha, how did you become an entrepreneur?
It was actually by chance. I was feeling unfulfilled in my career, so I went to the University of California, Berkeley. After that, I worked in marketing and HR at a few startups and continued building my corporate career in upper management. But then I decided to start over in Canada and wrote down my options on stickers. I had three hypotheses: be an entrepreneur, build an international corporate career, or become a teacher (since I have a degree in education). I chose the first option – entrepreneur – and never looked back.
That’s just my style – I write down hypotheses and test them, not necessarily prioritizing them. I opened a children’s textile store as my first entrepreneurial venture, which I later sold after 9-12 months. But I realized it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. So, I returned to the IT world, which welcomed me back with more requests for business advice. And that’s how my consulting agency for business education for digital agencies, top managers, and anyone who wants to become one started..
Interviewer: In today’s information society, there is an abundance of business schools. What made you choose this field and how did you find your niche?
I have tried attending various business schools, but I noticed a major flaw. While the education they offer is systematic, it is often too generic. This means that top managers from different industries, such as digital agencies, hospitality, investment and banking, startups, and others, are all trained in the same way. I believe that the strength of business, entrepreneurship, and education lies in specificity, so we have established a niche business education focused solely on working with the digital agency sector.
I have been in this field for over 12 years, so I understand the importance of specializing. I found my niche not by chance, but by fate.
I initially built my career as a top manager in this niche and was able to grow the company as a COO four times. I was able to navigate through various economic and political challenges, delegate and automate the business, and form a network of knowledge from my hands-on experience in building a highly profitable company in this business model.
This is a commoditized business, but our focus on profitability is a bright indicator. We approach each company and case individually, first as hands-on consultants, then as business advisors and board members, and now as a business school inbox.
Interviewer: How long does it take to prepare each business case?
It takes approximately 82-83 hours to prepare each business case.
Interviewer: How do you select experts for your materials?
We don’t select experts, but rather employees and managers. For our interviews, we speak to the managers of the company that we are writing a case study on. These can range from entry-level employees to top executives, including Board Members and founders.
Most of these individuals are very open and willing to give back to the community. They are happy to share their experiences and insights, especially since they were once in the same position as those they are helping.
We are primarily interested in notable companies, whether they are growing rapidly or have a long-standing history. We also focus on companies with unique, niche stories that stand out in their industry.
Do negative cases with business mistakes more prevalent in The CEO.News?
Our goal is to create a “convex” case for each company. We don’t want to be just a “vanilla” business school or solely a school of business mistakes. Instead, we aim to be a school of strategic thinking, showcasing the facts, problems, and how the company has overcome challenges.
We show how a company has dealt with force majeure events or global catastrophes, or in some cases, how they have failed. We have a lower percentage of short stories about companies that have already closed, as we focus on why they failed and what could have been done to avoid it.
We don’t only focus on positive cases, as there are already plenty of success stories out there. We aim to showcase the losses and recovery after losses, or the closure of businesses. Running a business is not always easy, and we want to show the ups and downs that come with it.
Is it true that your product is universal and adapted for different countries?
Yes, that’s correct. We work in different languages and are continuously expanding our language offerings. Currently, we write in English and Ukrainian.
Who would be particularly useful to subscribe to The CEO? News?
The CEO.News would be particularly useful for CEOs, owners, and top managers of IT service companies. It would also benefit individuals who are looking to start a business or build their careers, grow up the career ladder, and bring value to their company with the help of strategic decisions. Furthermore, those who want to influence the development of companies and sound knowledgeable and reasonable at rallies can also benefit from this newsletter. Our users will become well-informed and will be able to operate with real-life cases, not just their opinions. This will help them influence the direction of their department in the company, based on evidence and not just their feelings or examples from other industries. This expertise is very niche.
If we talk about positions, our subscribers can be founders, CEOs, and the entire C-level: CFO, CMO, CRO, CBDO, HRD, and anyone who wants to become one of these positions. The CEO.News is a must-have for these individuals.
Is it true that your subscribers can unite in a community and there is some kind of networking system during The CEO.News training? How does it work?
Yes, it’s true. Our subscribers have several unique features, one of which is the one-to-one work with a mentor on case analysis. The mentor helps to adapt the strategy from the case for a specific company and create an individual roadmap. Additionally, we are organizing a series of events in our target locations, where we will integrate our user community. People learn in two ways – through stories and through other people. Stories are cases and people are a lively discussion.
We want our users to learn from other people, both inside their business and with their peers offline. We are developing this aspect in order to facilitate communication, introduce people, and allow them to exchange experiences with those in the same context. This is a closed club of “figures” who make strategic decisions in their business, and we are proud when our clients create a roadmap based on case studies and bring it to life. This is the momentum that drives us – the momentum of empowering entrepreneurs.
