What if the secret to building great companies wasn’t about chasing unicorns, but solving your own problems first?

Mikael da Costa, a serial entrepreneur, CEO of WPSEOAI, with a passion for building and scaling businesses that solve real problems. Over the years, he founded and grown multiple companies across different industries, focusing on creating impact and driving sustainable growth.

In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, I sit down with serial entrepreneur and Startup Warrior author Mikael da Costa. From recruitment tech to SEO tools, Mikael has built companies not by following trends, but by fixing real problems he faced as a founder.

We talk about:

- Why he believes the best leaders often don’t start with a title
- How promoting from within creates stronger culture and trust
- The five core pillars every startup must master
- What changes when you lead for the people, not the ego
- And the brutal leadership lesson that shaped his current approach

This is a raw, honest conversation about leadership, culture, resilience—and why execution without energy is like a plane with no fuel.

Whether you’re building your first business or scaling your fifth, Mikael’s insights will challenge how you think about entrepreneurship and leadership.

To learn more, visit:

https://www.selflystore.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

https://missionmatters.com/author/aslak-de-silva/