What I have learned from my failures / Startup Wrocław #5
0 likes426 views
Grzegorz Rudno-Rudziński reflects on his experiences and failures in business, specifically his struggles during a failed bid to go public and a challenging merger with a competitor. He shares key lessons learned, emphasizing the importance of resilience, transparency, and teamwork in overcoming obstacles. Ultimately, he underscores that the strength of their team was crucial in navigating these challenges and achieving success.
What I have learned from my failures / Startup Wrocław #5
- 1. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED FROM MY FAILURES Grzegorz Rudno-Rudziński |
- 2. –Adapted From Someone Important “There is no such a thing as a mistake, there’s only a learning experience!”
- 3. A FEW WORDS ABOUT ME… Graduate of Technical University of Wroclaw Co-founder of Internet Designers – one of the first interactive agencies in Poland Managing partner at Unity Group – IT provider employing over 200 specialists Member of IT Corner Community Family guy, very much into sports and travelling Grzegorz Rudno-Rudziński
- 4. … ANDTHE UNITY GROUP With over 20 years of e-commerce & e-business experience, we’ve successfully delivered hundreds of projects for top brands in Poland and other EU countries. CHECK OUR CASE STUDIES
- 5. MISTAKE #1: HOSTILETAKEOVER ATTEMPT
- 6. YEAR 2000:THE DOT.COM BUBBLE It’s year 2000 and we decide to go to the stock exchange as many others do.
- 7. A BITE OFTHE REALITY SANDWICH... Debt of 1 million PLN. Losses hitting the roof. Team we can’t afford to keep.
- 8. SAY HELLOTOTHETAKEOVER ATTEMPT! And when you think things just can’t go any worse, a random lawyer calls us to present an offer from a mysterious investor.
- 10. GET UP, STAND UP, DON'T GIVE UPTHE FIGHT! Informing the team, clients, banks and partners about our situation. Surviving on the family and friends’ loans. Reported the incident to the police.
- 11. 3YEARS OF CLEARING OUR DEBTS
- 12. SPOILER ALERT:WE MADE IT! And since then, we’ve also grown our technology stack, so we’re now able respond to a very broad range of business needs. SEE OUR CURRENT OFFER
- 13. MISTAKE #1: LESSONS LEARNT Never assume everyone shares your values. Always have a Plan B! Trust your team and treat them as partners. Be transparent and honest. Resilience is the key.
- 14. MISTAKE#2: MERGER WITH A COMPETITOR
- 15. WHY MERGE WITH A COMPETITOR? Pick the best of each organisation to achieve synergy. Gain momentum and expand into European markets.
- 16. THE NEW ORGANISM DOESN’T WORK AS EXPECTED… Sales and projects slow down. We get quality complaints. Technical debt incurs higher service costs. Loss of confidence among team, partners and clients.
- 17. NO SHAREDVISION RESULTS IN AN UNMANAGEABLE OFFER...
- 18. REACHINGTHETIPPING POINT We have great people. Our team does a good job. Somehow we can’t deliver value to our clients.
- 20. REASONSTHIS MARRIAGE COULDN’T WORK Differences in interpretation. Communication styles: transparency vs. knowledge is power. Culture of feedback vs. of hiding errors. Diverging visions.
- 21. MISTAKE #2: LESSONS LEARNT Merger isn’t a piece of cake. The trap of authority vs. listening to your team. Observe, ask questions, listen attentively. Accept the fact that building a common culture is a process. Embrace the real benefits of the merger.
- 22. THE REALVALUES OF OUR MERGER Valuable people. Some synergy indeed took place! Revitalised teamwork and new ideas. Delivery of value to new clients.
- 24. THE REAL GAME-CHANGER WERE OUR PEOPLE We wouldn’t get through this moment without the energy and support from the team – people from both organisations that helped us to tackle this issue.
- 25. – Jim Collins, Good to Great “Start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats”
- 26. CHECK OUR POSTS ON BUSINESS &TECHNOLOGY We’re lucky to have some really talented folks on our team. They’re not only great at what they do, but also keen to share their knowledge. READ OUR BLOG
- 27. Grzegorz Rudno-Rudziński | | en.unity.pl grzegorz.rudno-rudzinski@unity.pl