The Founder Mindset with Reza Satchu

Becoming CEO may be the ultimate career goal for many executives. But the job itself can be radically different from what aspiring leaders expect.

Nitin Nohria has spent more than three decades studying CEOs and working with them in Harvard Business School’s workshops for new chief executives. In his new book, The CEO: The Role, the Reality, the Responsibility, he explores the realities of the job—and the surprises that even highly experienced executives encounter once they reach the top.

In this episode of the HBR IdeaCast Nohria shares with host Alison Beard why CEOs quickly discover that they can't actually run the company themselves, and why CEOs are particularly vulnerable to being insulated from reality: information tends to become increasingly “sugarcoated” as it travels up the organization. Plus, the importance of humility, building the right senior team, and managing the CEO's most precious—and finite—resource: time. 

Listen to more episodes of the HBR IdeaCast in your favorite podcast app, or head to: https://hbr.org/2018/01/podcast-ideacast

What does it take to be a founder?

Brian Halligan co-founded HubSpot and pioneered inbound marketing. Today, the company generates more than $3 billion in annual revenue. But before starting HubSpot, he was a sales executive who didn't have the confidence to become a founder.

He wasn't born one. He learned how.

This is The Founder Mindset, with Reza Satchu.

--

Harvard Business School Foundry is a venture-building platform for high-potential founders.

Harvard frameworks, live faculty sessions, and a path to compete for $100,000 in non-dilutive fundings.

Accepting HBS Foundry Bootcamp applications now. An 8-week, virtual bootcamp to take your idea to a funding-ready pitch. Apply here:

https://hbsfoundry.org/apply-now

What does it take to be a founder?

Mark Pincus doesn't believe in the lightning bolt: the one brilliant idea that changes everything.

He built Zynga, the social gaming giant behind FarmVille and Words With Friends, and sold it for $12.7 billion. Before that, he'd already built three companies: one sold, one went public, and one failed.

He turned it all into a framework: Proven, Better, New. And a habit most founders resist: assume your idea is wrong, and test it faster than anyone else.

This is The Founder Mindset with Reza Satchu.

--

Foundry is Harvard Business School’s new AI-native platform that gives high-potential founders everywhere the tools, expertise, and guidance to build ventures that succeed.

Accepting HBS Foundry Bootcamp applications now. An 8-week, virtual bootcamp to take your idea to a funding-ready pitch. Apply here:

https://hbsfoundry.org/apply-now

*Open to founders based in the U.S. for now. Top participants are invited to Foundry Catalyst with the opportunity to later compete for up to $100K in funding. 

All podcast episodes and more info can also be found on Harvard Business School’s official site: 

https://www.hbs.edu/foundry

In this episode of The Parlor Room Presents: Hello AI, host and Harvard Business School Online Creative Director Chris Linnane speaks with HBS Professor Linda Hill about why AI adoption depends on more than technology. Drawing on her research, Hill explains why leaders must rethink the way work gets done, teams collaborate, and organizations build the trust and capabilities to use AI effectively—and why the most successful companies treat AI as an opportunity to redesign work, not just automate it.

RESOURCES

Learn more from Hill in her course Leading in the Digital World, which is part of HBS Online's  Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB) (https://hbs.me/mspr4ae6) and the Credential of Digital Innovation and Strategy (https://hbs.me/3zvv82de)

Catch up on the previous Parlor Room episode, Linda Hill on Leading Change and the Paradoxes of Management

(https://hbs.me/37npcw6v) 

Check out Hill's book mentioned in this episode (https://collectivegeniusbook.com/)

Related HBS Online Blog Posts:

5 Digital Leadership Skills That Can Help Advance Your Career

(https://hbs.me/2taudjfy)

3 Tips to Help You Lead in the Digital World (https://hbs.me/2p82pchk) 

AI-Powered Business Process Automation: When to Automate vs. Augment

(https://hbs.me/yck8kd52)

What does it take to be a founder?

Demond Martin never took the obvious path. In 2022, he bet that a company could do what philanthropy alone couldn’t: close the health gap for communities like the one he came from.

His company, WellWithAll, provides daily wellness products, from supplements to beverages, and gives away twenty percent of its profits, with a goal of raising $300 million for community health programs over the next decade.

--

Foundry is Harvard Business School’s new AI-native platform that gives high-potential founders everywhere the tools, expertise, and guidance to build ventures that succeed.

Accepting HBS Foundry Bootcamp applications now. An 8-week, virtual bootcamp to take your idea to a funding-ready pitch. Apply here:

https://hbsfoundry.org/apply-now

*Open to founders based in the U.S. for now. Top participants are invited to Foundry Catalyst with the opportunity to later compete for up to $100K in funding. 

All podcast episodes and more info can also be found on Harvard Business School’s official site: 

https://www.hbs.edu/foundry

Today, we’re sharing an episode from Cold Call, the chart-topping management podcast from our colleagues at Harvard Business School. 

Hosted by HBS Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Brian Kenny, Cold Call explores the real-world business case studies taught at HBS, with the professors who wrote them and often the executives and innovators who lived them. From the history of Hershey to today's biggest AI case studies, Cold Call breaks down the decisions, tradeoffs, and leadership lessons behind some of the most fascinating organizations.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear from HBS assistant professor Julian De Freitas and BrandBastion co-founders, the case protagonists. Together, they discuss the AI-powered platform they built to help brands manage social media comment sections at scale, respond quickly to customers, and protect their reputation. 

This conversation is especially compelling given the guests’ thoughtful consideration of when brands should step in and respond to customers online, and how organizations can make the case for investing in moderation.

To listen to more episodes, follow Cold Call on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. 

What does it take to be a founder?

Michelle Zatlyn co-founded Cloudflare as an MBA student on a simple, unfashionable bet: give the product away, and make the internet safer for everyone. Today, Cloudflare protects millions of websites and carries roughly a fifth of all internet traffic. Along the way, Michelle became one of the world’s rare self-made female tech billionaires.

This is The Founder Mindset with Reza Satchu.

--

Foundry is Harvard Business School’s new AI-native platform that gives high-potential founders everywhere the tools, expertise, and guidance to build ventures that succeed.

Accepting HBS Foundry Bootcamp applications now. An 8-week, virtual bootcamp to take your idea to a funding-ready pitch. Apply here:

https://hbsfoundry.org/apply-now

*Open to founders based in the U.S. for now. Top participants are invited to Foundry Catalyst with the opportunity to later compete for up to $100K in funding. 

All podcast episodes and more info can also be found on Harvard Business School’s official site: 

https://www.hbs.edu/foundry

What does it take to be a founder?

David Fialkow built companies from scratch, sold them, and now as co-founder of General Catalyst, supports the next generation of founders. His edge is simple: spot conviction early — and help it scale into lasting impact. 

This is The Founder Mindset, with Reza Satchu.

--

Foundry is Harvard Business School’s new AI-native platform that gives high-potential founders everywhere the tools, expertise, and guidance to build ventures that succeed.

Accepting HBS Foundry Bootcamp applications now. An 8-week, virtual bootcamp to take your idea to a funding-ready pitch. Apply here:

https://hbsfoundry.org/apply-now

*Open to founders based in the U.S. for now. Top participants are invited to Foundry Catalyst with the opportunity to later compete for up to $100K in funding. 

All podcast episodes and more info can also be found on Harvard Business School’s official site: 

https://www.hbs.edu/foundry

What does it take to be a founder?

Naren Shaam had one audacious mission: to unify global transport under a single system. One place to search, compare, and book every way a person can move — trains, buses, flights, ferries — across borders, in seconds.

Today, Omio spans 46 countries. Every second of every day, someone is traveling on a ticket they booked through Naren’s platform. That’s over a billion people a year.

This is a story about risk, resilience, and the commitment to keep going when you're the only one who believes.

--

Foundry is Harvard Business School’s new AI-native platform that gives high-potential founders everywhere the tools, expertise, and guidance to build ventures that succeed.

Accepting HBS Foundry Bootcamp applications now. An 8-week, virtual bootcamp to take your idea to a funding-ready pitch. Apply here:

https://hbs.me/2xk9j562

*Open to founders based in the U.S. for now. Top participants are invited to Foundry Catalyst with the opportunity to later compete for up to $100K in funding. 

All podcast episodes and more info can also be found on Harvard Business School’s official site: 

https://www.hbs.edu/foundry

What does it take to be a founder?

Galen Weston didn’t build from zero — he rebuilt at scale. As leader of Loblaw and George Weston Limited, he transformed a legacy retail empire into a modern national powerhouse, proving that reinventing a giant can demand the same bold decisions as starting from scratch.

--

Foundry is Harvard Business School’s new AI-native platform that gives high-potential founders everywhere the tools, expertise, and guidance to build ventures that succeed.

Accepting HBS Foundry Bootcamp applications now. An 8-week, virtual bootcamp to take your idea to a funding-ready pitch.

Apply here:

https://hbs.me/2p9e5uej

*Open to founders based in the U.S. for now. Top participants are invited to Foundry Catalyst with the opportunity to later compete for up to $100K in funding. 

All podcast episodes and more info can also be found on Harvard Business School’s official site: 

https://www.hbs.edu/foundry