I’ve always been fascinated by business and entrepreneurs. From a young age I would read the stories of any successful entrepreneur I could find, from Richard Branson to Steve Jobs overseas to Kerry Packer and Gerry Harvey in Australia. I was always interested in where they came from and how they built their empires. But there is a layer of mythology to these epic success stories that becomes problematic as well which we should also be mindful of. The way the stories of success are told and learned amplifies both the traits that are desirable but also those that are not. We can easily fall for the narratives that would make you believe you must be a relentless megalomaniac to achieve success.
Elon Musk is easily today’s poster child for aspiring entrepreneurs. Without a doubt he is as brilliant an entrepreneur as the world has ever seen along with people such as Steve Jobs and Howard Hughes. His ability to take on seemingly insurmountable problems, prove the naysayers wrong and create multi-billion-dollar businesses along the way is extraordinary. The fact that he can execute his plans across multiple businesses in different industries simultaneously is simply mind blowing. His combination of intellect, vision, and ability to relentlessly execute have made him the wealthiest man on the planet. Yet the biggest mistake aspiring entrepreneurs can make is to try to be like Elon Musk.
One of the reasons I started my podcast was that I still love learning about the journeys of people who have created successful businesses. There have been guests who have made me reflect more deeply on a topic and my recent interview with Kristy Chong had that impact on me. She is almost an accidental entrepreneur. I often hear people say they want to “change the world” or “solve big problems” and I get the sense that in many cases this is ego driven as people find their place in the world and make their mark. Nothing wrong with ego or ambition but it makes me think about what it really means to change the world and what defines a big problem to tackle.
Kristy created a business called Modibodi that has profoundly changed people’s lives. It’s not what you would describe as a traditionally cool or sexy business, in fact it might be the opposite. But what Kristy did was to solve a very real, very difficult problem. As a mum of four, Kristy came up with the concept in 2011 while training for a marathon and experiencing light incontinence. Upon finding there was no product available she spent the next 2 years creating one, patenting leak-proof underwear. From there it became obvious that this was a big problem for a lot of people who were desperate for her solution. Fast forward to 2022 and Kristy sold the business for $140 million.
It struck me as we spoke about the use cases for her product that this was indeed a life changing product. Kristy soon discovered that post-natal women were not the only ones who struggled with embarrassing leakage issues. Before long there was demand from young girls to people with disabilities through to old men. Suddenly people had a solution that opened the possibilities of life and activities that they had avoided. Her product literally changed people lives overnight. It wasn’t something people felt they were able to talk about, there was no solution, until Kristy created it.
In a world where every entrepreneur seems to aspire to be the next Elon Musk, I would love to see a far greater emphasis on helping more and more people become the next Kristy Chong.
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