An exciting past week Harvard Business School as we explored two distinct approaches to business and life: the Tim Ferriss mindset and The Founder Mindset, as taught in my class. I was thrilled to have Tim Ferriss himself join us as we debuted our new HBS case study, "Tim Ferriss: What Might This Look Like If It Were Easy?" written by my incredible research associate Denise Koller and me. We debated many of Tim's key frameworks and strategies, from Pareto's Law or the 80/20 principle, his experimental approach to testing new projects, to his commitment to being a "karmic capitalist." In particular, Tim's "fear-setting" exercise of defining one's fears rather than goals resonated deeply with my students, helping them understand risk assessment and their potential to recover from failure in a whole new light. Tim's track record speaks for itself—from writing five The New York Times bestsellers, being an early-stage investor in Uber and Shopify, to his phenomenally successful podcast "Tim Ferriss Show"—and the insights he shared challenged my students to think differently about entrepreneurship and leading a life of impact. The second half of our week took a more personal turn for me as we analyzed Alignvest Student Housing, my own venture, through the lens of The Founder Mindset. I was joined by an exceptional group, including my partner of 20 years, Sanjil Shah, our Board Chair Nancy Lockhart, as well as Don Walker and Andrew Kosc. We grappled with a question every founder dreads: when is the right time to sell your creation? As many founders know, the decision to sell a business you have built from scratch transcends pure economics — it's also deeply emotional. The case deals with our decision not to sell last year and to continue building despite, at the time, rising interest rates and increased competitive pressure. This proved to be the right decision as we completed over $400 million of accretive acquisitions over the past year. After careful consideration, we recently decided to sell Alignvest Student Housing. This marks the end of one chapter, but I'm excited about the opportunities ahead. https://lnkd.in/eK_4JxPg Photo creds: Evgenia Eliseeva
As someone who grew up reading Tim's books, I can imagine how life changing and inspirational this talk would have been to the students.
Now I understand why students dream of getting into HBS—unbeatable insights! 🌟
What an insightful post! Tim Ferriss’ “fear-setting” exercise is such a powerful tool for rethinking risk and decision-making. The discussion about when to let go of something you’ve built is equally thought-provoking. Wishing you continued success in all your future ventures!
This is truly extraordinary and groundbreaking Reza thank you for sharing- lots of useful and constructive information here
This is insightful, Satchu! Where can I get the case?
Reza Satchu Congratulations! Can I buy the case somewhere
Love it! Can I buy the case somewhere? I couldn't find it on the HBS catalogue
Brilleeeant, love it! 🔥
Child/Teen/Parent Coach - Anxiety/Beh
3moCongratulations ~ Stellar work and a steadfast commitment to excellence💫