"Success is working hard, staying humble, and helping others"
Meet Adam Rencher, Digital Marketing Manager at Zapmoto & Co-Founder/CEO at Cribster. Fluent in Japanese and Spanish. Experienced in engaging and communicating with people from various backgrounds and cultures. Strong written and verbal communicator. Avid Entrepreneur and product designer. Competent in Microsoft Office; Marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Google Ads; as well as design software such as XD and Figma. Growing interest in Venture Capital, Product Management, and Growth Marketing. Avid Entrepreneur and product designer.
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Table of Contents
Let’s start with a brief introduction first. Introduce yourself to our readers.
Adam Rencher: I’m passionate about building. I build companies by solving problems that everyone knows need to be solved but no one has been willing to work at it long enough or hard enough. I build products by knowing my customers and tailoring them to their needs. I build people by helping them realize their full potential.
Our audience is interested to know about how you got started in the first place. Did you always want to become a CEO or was it something you were led to? Our readers would love to know your story!
Adam Rencher: Looking around me I always noticed things that bothered me. Flawed systems, bad products, and just plain bad customer experiences. I committed to writing them down. Providing a housing marketplace that provides transparent reviews for College students was simply a solution to solve a problem not a path to become CEO.
“Selfmade” is a myth. We all received help, no doubt you love to show appreciation to those who supported you when the going got tough, who has been your most important professional inspiration?
Adam Rencher: Growing up my dad was a big inspiration. He helped me learn to put people first, and rode on the idea that success depends on putting others first.
How did your journey lead you to become a CEO? What difficulties did you face along the way and what did you learn from them?
Adam Rencher: I learned to work hard. Entrepreneurship is glorified, but it’s really one of the hardest things anyone will do.
Tell us about your company. What does your business do and what are your responsibilities as a CEO?
Adam Rencher: Cribster exists for the purpose of helping college students avoid crummy landlords. I am in charge of marketing, ops, and finance, and my partner handles content creation and the creative.
What does CEO stand for? Beyond the dictionary definition, how would you define it?
Adam Rencher: It stands for helper. As a leader, you have the responsibility to solve problems that help people in some real way.
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When you first became a CEO, how was it different from what you expected? What surprised you?
Adam Rencher: It was tough to see the big picture, not that I had difficulty seeing it; it came naturally. It was difficult knowing everything that needed to be done while acknowledging where we were.
There are many schools of thought as to what a CEO’s core roles and responsibilities are. Based on your experience, what are the main things a CEO should focus on? Explain and please share examples or stories to illustrate your vision.
Adam Rencher: A CEO should focus on customer satisfaction. The CEO of Alibaba Jack Ma, was concerned about customer and investor confidence and spoke out against the Chinese government. He disappeared. That’s a brilliant example of dedication to customers.
Share with us one of the most difficult decisions you had to make for your company that benefited your employees or customers. What made this decision so difficult and what were the positive impacts?
Adam Rencher: One of the toughest decisions was deciding to quit my job. I needed to pay the bills, but the commitment and desperation are what helped me in the long run.
How would you define success? Does it mean generating a certain amount of wealth, gaining a certain level of popularity, or helping a certain number of people?
Adam Rencher: Success is working hard, staying humble, and helping others.
Some leadership skills are innate while others can be learned. What leadership skills do you possess innately and what skills have you cultivated over the years as a CEO?
Adam Rencher: I am very good with communication and people. Something I’ve had to learn is numbers. Numbers-driven decision-making is key to the health of a business.
How did your role as a CEO help your business overcome challenges caused by the pandemic? Explain with practical examples.
Adam Rencher: I helped people learn to fail. They got a pay cut. So did I. But learning to see past the money and come together in search of something great was an amazing experience.
Do you have any advice for aspiring CEOs and future leaders? What advice would you give a CEO that is just starting out on their journey?
Adam Rencher: Don’t be selfish. Everyone hates the leaders who think about money and themselves.
Before we finish things off, we have one final question for you. If you wrote a book about your life today, what would the title be?
Adam Rencher: “The Advocate.”
Larry Yatch, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Adam Rencher for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Adam Rencher or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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