"The most important role is to be compassionate and to lead my example."
As an entrepreneur for the last 27 years, Ludwina Dautovic has been behind many successful achievements in her career. She is a strategic and innovative thinker who’s passionate about technology and disruptive market leadership.
Ludwina is the Founder & CEO of The Room Xchange – Australia’s first verified house sharing platform. Their primary focus is on verification of all users, creating a safe and viable community. Their profiles match you based on personality, values and lifestyle and the option to rent or rent offset gives you the flexibility to create a rental arrangement that suits your needs.
Ludwina is also the host of The Room Xchange Podcast. The focus of the podcast is to provide you with valuable information to help you rent better. You can find the podcast on every major podcast directory including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and iHeart Radio. If you are in the rental or real estate space and have some insights that would help our audience, send a direct message and we’ll be in touch.
A keen investor in new and emerging technologies, Ludwina is always on the lookout for innovative tech opportunities and investments. Ludwina is also a passionate portrait and abstract artist and also writes on topics related to business and art. You can find out more here: www.Ludwina.com.
Ludwina and The Room Xchange have been featured in media outlets such as Today Show, Triple J, Australian Financial Review, 3AW, CMO, The Age, Business Insider, The CEO Magazine, Domain, Architectural Review, Startup Daily, Startup Smart, Sydney Property Insider, Fox, Digital Journal, Market Watch, Yahoo Finance and News.com.au. She has won multiple business awards & has been listed in Who’s Who of Australian Women 4 years running.
Check out more interviews with entrepreneurs here.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET FEATURED?
All interviews are 100% FREE OF CHARGE
Table of Contents
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! We know you’re a busy person, so our readers will appreciate learning more about your backstory and how you got started.
Ludwina Dautovic: I’ve been an entrepreneur for 27 years. I’ve never had a day job and I’ve always worked for myself. I left school at 15 and left home at 16. I’m now 55. I began my journey producing TV back in the analogue days. It was a dream of mine that I wanted to pursue but had no idea what I was doing. I quickly learned that I didn’t need to know what I was doing; I just need to find the right people who did and then lead them well. From that moment in my late 20’s until now, I’ve come to realise that all I needed was the vision and then gather the right people around me who would fall in love with that vision and work with me. It’s one of my talents that comes with huge responsibility. I’m grateful to have that gift as it has served me well, especially now as the CEO and founder of The Room Xchange.
I founded The Room Xchange five years ago. I financially backed it in the early stages and then I was able to raise capital to build it. It has been the largest and most challenging project I’ve ever done and also the most satisfying. The Room Xchange is Australia’s first verified house-sharing platform. We’re tapping into the 13.5m unused spare bedrooms in Australia which is existing housing stock. If we can get just 1% of those rooms, we will remove 135,000 people from the already strained rental market.
My humble beginnings, the choices I’ve made and the people who have supported me, got me here.
Can you tell us a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were starting out in your field? What did you learn from that experience?
Ludwina Dautovic: I’m struggling to answer this question. There haven’t been any funny mistakes. There has been hard mistakes which were challenging lessons to learn. One that comes to mind is realising when I needed to give up the idea that the company was founded on, and let it mature and grow into what it is today. I guess a funny aspect of it was that I was holding on so tightly to my original vision that letting go was like letting go of your child. The moment that you realise your child is forming into an adult and it’s happening faster than you realise but you have no control over it. The moment I realised I needed to let it go, I felt a huge sense of relief. Making the decision was the easy bit. Getting there was hard.
Somebody helped you get to where you are now. Somebody probably gave you some good advice or helped you out when you needed it. Who was that person for you? Tell us about it.
Ludwina Dautovic: There are three people who without a doubt, have helped me get to where I am now, and they all contributed at different stages.
Chris Adams was my first advisor and he’s also a dear friend. He was my mentor for many years before I started The Room Xchange and was instrumental in helping me see my strengths as a leader. When I first shared the idea of The Room Xchange with him, he immediately said ‘Yes! I’ll be your first advisor!’ He opened his little book of contacts and openly shared them with me. He reminded me of the risk I was taking and to ensure the risk/reward was something my partner and I could handle. He also helped me to get investor ready which was instrumental in raising our first round of capital.
The second person is David Stavropoulos, my COO. Chris told me to get him on board and I did. It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made. His level of knowledge with legal, financial and emotional intelligence has been instrumental in helping me become the leader I am today. He’s bold in his advice but also thoughtful with my replies. I have become more resilient and aware of my ability since bringing him on board.
The third person is Craig Boshier. He is an advisor who came on board just before Covid. We had begun to pivot the company an unbeknownst to us a worldwide epidemic was about to hit. The timing was perfect as we had already begun strategising what it would look like. Covid lockdowns gave us time to rebuild, rebrand and regenerate our company and the people in it. It also gave us the time to breath and really give it a lot of thought. Having said that, it was also a very difficult time as finances were tight and resources slim. Craig believed in us and stuck around to help us through. I’m fortunate to have him as an advisor.
Many studies have shown that businesses with a clear purpose are more successful in many ways. When your company started, what was its vision? What was its purpose?
Ludwina Dautovic: Our vision has shifted since we first started. Most businesses will grow into something else or at least slightly different as time goes on. I liken it to raising a child. The idea of what your child will be like before it’s born and the level of shifts required in your thinking after it’s born will change dramatically. Even more so as time goes on. You need to have a clear idea when you begin, but you also need to have the behavioural flexibility to grow and change as the business grows and changes.
We are in a housing crisis and housing affordability along with accessible affordable rentals are limited. Yet we have a glut of unused bedrooms. Our original model was based on an ‘Xchange’. A household would find a housemate that would suit their household. Instead of paying rent, they would provide two hours of day of help around the house each day in ‘Xchange’ for food and accommodation. But the model was too niched. There was not enough adoption to scale it and many or our users wanted more flexibility in our model.
During Covid we pivoted and now provide the option to rent, rent offset (formally Xchanging) or a mix of both. It’s up to the users to decide.
Now our users can choose the best option for their household and negotiate with their housemate based on what the housemate is happy to do. Not everyone wants to save money on rent, but those who do, can.
Thank you for that. Now let’s turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you share a story with our readers about how you led your team during difficult times?
Ludwina Dautovic: The pivot was a very difficult time. We had a global epidemic with a massive amount of insecurity. No-one knew when it would end. We live in Melbourne, Australia and were the most locked down city in the world. In fact, it was 18 months over a 2 year period. We had to make a lot of assumptions about what the post Covid world would look like, lead a team of people remotely in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Pakistan. Make payroll and survive with all the uncertainty circling around us. Every one of our team lost someone during Covid. Some of us fell ill. Some had to take time off to care for family members and I still had to deliver a product that would satisfy not only me but our shareholders and lead a team. Many days I struggled. We could only leave the house for one hour a day to exercise. We had no contact with the outside world other than when we went to the supermarket. It was like that for most of our team.
I’ve been in a relationship with my partner for 30 years and have been a mother for just as long. I leaned on those instincts and qualities to help lead my team through a unique and incredibly challenging time. I cared for them like they were family. We gave each other grace when it was needed. We lifted each other up when we were down and we just gave each other understanding. I believe the love and care that went into those moments built a level of trust that nothing else could have created. Although it was difficult, I can see the strength, trust and commitment it has created within our team.
Have you ever thought about giving up? Where do you find the motivation to continue through your challenges? What keeps you going?
Ludwina Dautovic: No. I haven’t. It’s not an option for me. My shareholders trusted their investment with me. I’ve invested 5 years of my life and my own money in this. I’m not going anywhere.
When I said ‘yes’ to this I meant it. When people invest in your company you have a responsibility to keep that investment whole and to make a profit for them. My other motivator is that I don’t quit – on anything. My ‘yes’ is a ‘yes’ and my ‘no’ is a ‘no’. I think very carefully about what I say yes to as there’s no other option from there.
What do you think is the most important role of a leader during difficult times?
Ludwina Dautovic: The most important role is to be compassionate and to lead my example. Showing your humanity allows your team to feel their own humanity. Asking for help and support from your team, teaches them that it’s okay to ask the same of you. Be the example you want them to be.
When the future seems uncertain, it can be hard to stay motivated. What is the best way to improve morale? What can a leader do to make their team feel inspired, motivated and engaged?
Ludwina Dautovic: We’ve found it helpful to have fortnightly video calls during Covid. I don’t see the need in having more than that as people find it exhausting. Outside of that, we chat on apps and stay connected with each other. Just checking in every few days and asking them how they’re going outside of their role, is fruitful. It shows that you care.
How can you best communicate difficult news to your team and customers?
Ludwina Dautovic: I’m a huge believer in just giving it to them straight. I wrap it up with sensitivity and make sure I’m delivering the message at the right time and in the right tone. I’d never deliver difficult news via a text or chat. A conversation gives you the ability to sense how they’re feeling and how they’re receiving the news.
How can leaders be able to make plans when the future is uncertain?
Ludwina Dautovic: I had to do this recently when we pivoted the company. The process I took was to lay out what I knew for sure and then make assumptions on the things I didn’t. As long as you’re not making huge financial decisions around things that are shrouded in uncertainty, you’ll be fine. Being a true entrepreneur is about trusting your instinct and having the ability to manage risk. However, if you look closely enough, there are massive opportunities when things are uncertain. It’s when change happens. If you can see the change required, you can innovate and create a solution.
Can a company find stability during difficult times by using a specific principle?
Ludwina Dautovic: Listen to your people. Be open and honest about what’s going on. Ask for help to keep the ship afloat. Being transparent is the best thing you can be when things are tough.
What are some of the most common mistakes that businesses make during difficult times? What can you do to avoid making these same mistakes?
Ludwina Dautovic: Don’t believe that all is lost. There are always opportunities in difficult times. I always say that when your back is against the wall, look for the opportunities. When you’re pushed to look for alternatives, take the time to find them. Don’t keep trying to do things the same way. There’s a new way; you just have to look for it.
Making more money, getting new customers, or keeping your current ones is hard during good times. It can be even harder during hard times. But it’s important to keep growing. Can you tell me some of the things you do to make sure you don’t lose ground when the economy is tough?
Ludwina Dautovic: Again, when there are difficult times and uncertainty all around you, look for the opportunities. Being in lockdown for 18 months gave us the opportunity to look at our company and see what wasn’t working. It gave us time to breath and adapt. Even though we started fresh, we didn’t lose anything as the knowledge we’d gained over the earlier years, steered us in the right direction.
What are five things a business leader can do to lead effectively during uncertain and turbulent times? Please share a story or an example for each.
Ludwina Dautovic: 1) Make sure you have your own happy place and/or thing that you enjoy doing. For me, it’s art. I discovered art shortly after I started The Room Xchange as I needed a way to shut off and relax my mind. I am now fiercely passionate about it and would rather spend my evenings and spare time painting than watching TV or something else that’s mindless. All the skills I’ve learned with my art I can easily transfer to business. It’s been an enlightening experience especially now that people actually love my art enough to buy it!
2) Care for your team as they’re the backbone of the company. I make sure to know how my team are feeling and if they need support or understanding. If you’re talking regularly and you know what’s happening in their personal lives, then you can make compensations when needed.
3) Pay your team, even if you have to dig into your own pocket. I’ve had to do it and I’d do it again.
4) Ask for help. There are a plethora of resources within your team. Asking for help can be as simple as brainstorming ideas or asking for leads and introductions. You never know what is available within their extended circle.
5) Remember to breath. Looking after yourself is the most important thing. Make sure you exercise, eat well, get plenty of sleep and have time to play. I mark out time in my calendar on a daily basis to go for a walk, to see friends and to make time to paint. It’s marked in the colour green. If I see some green on a daily basis, I know I’m taking of myself.
Can you share a life lesson quote that is meaningful to you and explain how it has influenced your life?
Ludwina Dautovic: “Life has seasons. Just as quickly as winter turns into spring, so will the seasons of your life.” Things can change very quickly. Sometimes the winter can feel dark and long, but eventually spring does come. I wrote this quote when my children were young. It reminded me to take the time I needed to enjoy them while they were children. It’s helped me through the difficult times of business. Covid was a very long winter but spring did come. It’s a hopeful quote that keeps me going when things are challenging.
How can our readers stay up-to-date on your work?
Ludwina Dautovic: Thank you for taking the time to read my story. It was my aim to be as transparent as I could be. Being a leader isn’t easy and leading through tough times is hard. But it is possible. You just need to have enough faith in yourself and trust your people. I believe that people are inherently good and this is where I start from. If we treat people with dignity and respect we’ll get the same.
I invite you to stay connected with me. Linkedin is the best way for business updates and my views and opinions on business related topics.
If you’d like to stay updated on The Room Xchange we have the same handle across all our socials – @theroomxchange. If you are curious about The Room Xchange and would like to register and get started as a household or housemate or you can sign up to stay updated with our bi monthly newsletter go to: www.theroomxhange.com.
Jerome Knyzweski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Ludwina Dautovic for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Ludwina Dautovic or her company, you can do it through her – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Linkedin Page
Did you enjoy this article? Check out similar stories:
Jocko Willink: From US Navy Seal To Millionaire Coach And Best Selling Author
Andy Frisella: An Inspiring Story Of Grit
Allison Stokke: How A Single Photo Made Her The Famous Internet Sensation That She Is Now
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
