Playing to Win

Last week at university we did the Markstrat Online simulation. It is a game in which you have to manage a company, competing with other students. While usually it is played from home, at Erasmus we had designated class time to play it. This made a very social experience and so I really enjoyed it.

Working in a good team is fun

It was so much fun to do this exercise. I liked the competitive thrill of it, as with each round we were eagerly waiting to find out the results, comparing them with others soon afterwards, and jumping straight to work to come out on top next time. I must say the whole experience wouldn’t be the same had it not been for the awesome group members I was lucky to work with. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with them, and I know that one day they are really going to be some of the best in our field.

Best teammates ever: Jorien, Alex and Erik.

Three takeaway points

Three things I learnt from the simulation:

1. Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. This is the most important element of success. If you cannot work together, you will work against one another.
2. Clarity, consistency and concentration. In business (and in life as well, actually) you have to have a clear vision, it will greatly help you with decision making, steering you in the right direction. Once you identified what is it that you want to do, stay with it, this is the only way to master it. Then, do not branch out too quickly, rather concentrate - remember that your resources are limited, so set off to achieve the second objective only when you do not have to significantly sacrifice the first one.
3. Watch out for competition. Never neglect the competition, keep your moves secret (be humble), outmaneuver them before they outmaneuver you, and mercilessly exploit their every mistakes and weaknesses.

So how did we do eventually? We won!!!! And what a joy it was to celebrate our first place in the industry with my teammates! It was a truly awesome experience!!!

Entrepreneurship of Life

Last Monday I went to the Entrepreneurship Seminar organised at my university and it was great. Really, it was so inspiring that I am still so energised it feels I could run a marathon!

A nice surprise

What happened then? Basically, a bunch of entrepreneurs showed up and each gave a little speech followed by a Q&A session. I didn’t expect much to be honest. Just a few businessmen with some bits and pieces of advice on how to succeed in the world of commerce. But to my surprise what I witnessed was an outpouring of enthusiasm, unbeatable spirits, and such tremendous passion that soon I was completely overwhelmed by what I was seeing and hearing. After just a few moments I was sitting there listening, fiercely writing things down, putting them out on Twitter and thinking about what questions to ask at the same time. Totally loved it.

Interviewing Rob Heilbron, co-founder of O’Neill

Live your life to the fullest 

While there was a multitude of things I learnt, the overall lesson was that to live life to the fullest you have to really go for it, try things out and constantly challenge yourself. Of course it is not always easy to do just that (humans are overwhelmingly creatures of habit), but perhaps the key to it all is not to be afraid of failure - “every failure brings you one step closer to success” - said Kevin Eyres, CEO of LinkedIn Europe. Once we accept failure as a natural part of life then it is not that big of a deal to fail anymore. In this context each failure can be a valuable lesson for the future. When you understand your mistakes, the next time you have an opportunity comes along, chances are you will not screw it up again.

With that said I feel much better equipped to drive through my fears now and to take the opportunities in life when they come along, to be the entrepreneur of my own life! Hope that after reading this, it will be similar for you as well!

A little update

July has been an amazing month. First and foremost, I got accepted to do a master’s programme in business administration at Rotterdam School of Management. I am very proud of this result because RSM is one of the best institutes of its kind in Europe. I booked my ticket just a few days ago and will be going back to The Netherlands on the 25th of August.

It is very sad to leave London. After almost four years here it feels like this is home. I am not sad though! Studying in Rotterdam will be yet another amazing experience: rich, colourful and full of flavour. I am especially excited about meeting my fellow students, working and having fun together. Something is telling me I will meet some very special people there.