Michael Katchen has acheived personal leadership and company growth at the same time. Wealth Simple started as a simple investment tool on an excel sheet and now holds over $6 billion in assets. The company has a winning culture which plays a big part in its success.
Key Takeaways:
Wealthsimple has disrupted the financial services industry, but it was an accident. Its creation came from a much more natural place. Michael wanted to make investing easier for his generation. People and teams love big visions. Michael strives to get the best out of his employees by giving everyone a purpose and take on more accountability in their roles. The scale of the business has grown dramatically and Michael is still trying to find his footsteps. He is a first time CEO managing 300 people. As a pretty green leader, he is constantly reinventing himself to meet the demands of each stage of the business. As you scale drastically, you will have to give up some control or else the whole ecosystem just won’t work. What kind of talent does Michael look for? He looks for a ‘Maker Owner’. Someone who has a desire to build new things and an owner that is willing to step up and face the problems or roadblocks in the way. Good company culture has played a huge part in the success of Wealthsimple, but so many founders get culture wrong. Regular drinks outside of work or a ping pong table doesn’t make ‘culture’. As a leader, it’s okay to admit when you don’t know something. Show vulnerability, have humility, and have good mentors on your side. Figure out what kind of leader you want to be. There are a lot of leadership styles, so take on one that feels natural to you. Stay until the end for some rapid fire questions with Michael!
Mentioned in This Episode:
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