Tom Kereszti: 2024 C-Suite and Beyond

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Tom Kereszti, a seasoned leader with a wealth of experience in starting and scaling companies. Tom has been instrumental in numerous M&A activities, helping startups structure their operations for successful exits.

He has also navigated the unique challenges of starting a company independently, as well as within large organizations. His insights will be invaluable for YOU, whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, or corporate leader.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Any individual should be able to answer these 3 questions: Who are you? What are you passionate about? What are you good at? If you have clarity on those, you can live your calling instead of having a job or a career. I’m a servant leader and I’m passionate about making companies and people better and I’m pretty good at leading and mentoring.
• A series of doors open and close through your life. Any time one does you should look at it with discernment and prayer and ask: Is this an opportunity that makes sense? Is it something I should pursue, if I do, what happens in 3-4 years?
• Leadership is not having a title or a corner office, leadership is your ability to influence others about what you’re representing, that perhaps you have a better idea and other people follow you. The 4 keys that help you influence other people and help them buy in to you are: Who are you? Have a great vision. Have a strategic growth plan. Who’s in your inner circle – you become who your friends are, so surround yourself with people that are uplifting, there to support you, and you should always support them, it’s not a one way street.
• When you’re in a workforce you have to have relationships. We’re human beings not human doings, but a lot of us get caught up in the human doing stuff and relationships take a back seat. I made the mistake of separating work and weekend life with different sets of friends, as I went along I realised that you have to have relationships at work where you care for them and their families. It creates empathy. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘When talking about work life balance, balance is a point in time where nothing moves. When you achieve perfect balance you become stagnant. I’m not sure that’s healthy.’
‘Success means different things to different folks… and if you know what that is then you can start working towards it.’
‘If I have clarity on who you are and what you stand for, I won’t necessarily follow you, but there’s a change I will because I buy in to you.’
‘A team of 10 is manageable. I always find a banker and a lawyer.’

ABOUT THE GUEST

Tom Kereszti is a seasoned industry influencer, author, coach, speaker, educator, and mentor with a wealth of international experience. Tom's expertise spans across various sectors, including Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), where he has been involved in numerous activities, buying companies on behalf of larger organizations. He has also started companies for himself, providing him with a unique perspective on the differences and challenges in starting a company independently versus within a larger organization.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaskereszti/

https://www.leadershipdisciples.com/culture-force 

ABOUT THE HOST

There are over 140,000 FinTech ventures out there, including FinTechs, InsurTechs, HealthTechs, and WealthTechs. And the number keeps on changing every month. One statistic remains the same: 25% of these ventures have received investment and support from the financing world. 75% of these businesses still seek financing support from institutional and corporate investors alongside value-creating commercial collaboration opportunities with Global Fortune 500. 

Through this podcast series, I would like to demystify the world of corporate venturing, including how corporations collaborate with growth ventures, how venture capitalists and corporate venture capitalists make investment and collaboration choices in ventures and give tech founders and entrepreneurs, the strategies, tactics, tools, and techniques to build, grow and scale their business by understanding how those with financing power think. So, listen in, share and comment as you see fit.

Twitter: SabineVdL
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