Those who build great organizations make sure they have the right people on the bus and the right people in the key seats before they figure out where to drive the bus.
Ariel Sterngold is the president of Blix, an intelligent blending platform with pre-portioned smart cups that can blend a fresh smoothie, soup, spreads, and more in a matter of seconds with no planning, prepping, and zero cleaning.
Before Blix, he used to be VP of Business Development at Bevyz which was sold to Keurig Green Mountain for 274M$ in 2014. During his employment at Bevyz, he signed partnerships such as distribution in North America with Cuisinart, Licensing of Bevyz in Latin America with Whirlpool, and a partnership with Pepsi and Keurig.
Adding to his resume, before all of this Ariel was a Business Development Manager at Homeflow, a water purification device company aiming to supply clean drinking water to third world countries through an innovative water filtration dispenser.
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Table of Contents
Tell us a little bit about your current projects. What exciting milestone would you like to share with our readers? (Don’t hesitate to delve into your achievements, they will inspire the audience)
Ariel Sterngold: Blix is reinventing the way consumers at home and away from home are eating using our patented smart blender and cups. As is the case with disruptive innovation, making the system work consistently time after time does not come easy. We constantly had to “invent” solutions in order to make sure that we offer a sustainable, good for people, and good for the earth solution (fully recyclable). I am proud that after years of hard work we finally have the product we envisioned.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Ariel Sterngold: When starting out we had a very specific vision of how the Blix system would work and already early on we had some major challenges. We had external parties telling us that our vision is not achievable for 101 reasons. I remember one moment where we were told that our product would not be able to be recyclable as from a physics point of view it was not possible to both work as required and be from mono-material. Luckily I am surrounded by a team that is mentally tough and doesn’t give up easily and eventually we were able to achieve exactly what we set out to do.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Ariel Sterngold: Thinking your product is ready before it actually is. This issue makes entrepreneurs start to spend more money on team expansion which eventually leads to running out of funds and not being able to achieve the needed growth.
Is there a particular podcast you listened to, or business thought leader that you find helpful while maneuvering this pandemic?
Ariel Sterngold: I listen to “How I built this” with Guy Raz. This is a good reminder that ALL entrepreneurs go through the ups and downs and you simply have to think one step ahead, remember the big picture, and not give up.
In your opinion, what makes your company stand out from the competition?
Ariel Sterngold: The combination of food science, heavily investing in our technology and IP would make the offering by a competitor to the consumer of less good experience than they would have with Blix. As we have a system and control the experience from A-Z we can ensure that our users consistently get the desired results time after time.
Delegating is part of being a great leader, but what have you found helpful to get your managers to become valiant leaders as well?
Ariel Sterngold: We give our team members a great deal of freedom while we also give them frequent candid feedback on their performance. On the other hand, also ask them for feedback on how we as leaders perform in order to show that feedback is most welcome (good or bad) as long as it is not personal.
How important do you think it is for a leader to be mindful of his own brand?
Ariel Sterngold: The brand is the team and the team represents the brand. If you want the brand to have certain values you have to live them throughout the business and personal life. I have never met a successful person building a brand on certain beliefs and then not living by them.
What’s your favorite leadership style and why?
Ariel Sterngold: I believe that freedom, fun, and direct conversation with my team maximizes their potential and makes them feel comfortable to speak up any idea they might have which would not happen if we had a boxed organization. We have great fun together but that doesn’t take away from taking matters seriously and executing. All members know that at the end of the day execution is what matters.
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Do you think entrepreneurship is something that you’re born with or something that you can learn along the way?
Ariel Sterngold: I believe a big part of being an entrepreneur is being outside one’s comfort zone. Some of it you are born with and a lot can be learned through the journey of life. I believe that today there are more than ever tools to learn what it means to be an entrepreneur which can be helpful in learning how to deal with the day-to-day challenges.
What’s your favorite “leadership” quote and how has it affected the way you implement your leadership style?
Ariel Sterngold: Jim Collins’s “First Who, Then What—get the right people on the bus”—is a concept developed in the book Good to Great. Those who build great organizations make sure they have the right people on the bus and the right people in the key seats before they figure out where to drive the bus. If someone doesn’t suit the organization or have the right values get them off the bus as they will negatively affect the entire team.
Larry Yatch, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Ariel Sterngold 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 Ariel Sterngold or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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