In this episode of the How I'm Building This Podcast, Prateek interviews Josh Claman from Accelsius who shares his journey from a small farm town in Illinois to leading a cutting-edge cooling technology company. He discusses the importance of hiring for curiosity, collaboration, and kindness, and how transparent communication fosters a positive company culture. Josh elaborates on the founding story of Accelsius, the revolutionary cooling solutions they provide, and the challenges of scaling a hard tech company. He also reflects on common misconceptions about following one's passion and emphasizes the importance of managing mental health as a CEO.
Takeaways:
- Josh Claman's journey reflects a global perspective shaped by diverse experiences.
- Hiring is a critical challenge; curiosity and kindness are key traits to look for.
- Transparent communication fosters trust and aligns teams with the company's mission.
- Accelsius aims to revolutionize cooling solutions for high-density chips.
- Educating the market is essential for overcoming objections to new technology.
- Sales cycles can be long due to the need for proof of concept.
- Key metrics include pipeline growth and proposal conversion rates.
- Cross-functional collaboration is vital for team alignment and success.
- Common advice like 'follow your passion' can be misleading for early-career professionals.
- Managing mental health is crucial for maintaining effectiveness as a CEO.
Sound Bites:
- "I want people to smile in the office."
- "Follow your passion is terrible advice."
- "Every day is a new problem to solve."
In this episode, we cover:
00:00 Journey to Accelsius: A CEO's Background
03:11 Hiring for Success: Identifying Top Talent
07:37 Building a Transparent and Trusting Company Culture
12:56 Founding Accelsius: The Vision Behind the Company
17:25 Revolutionizing Cooling Solutions: The Problem We're Solving
21:01 Messaging the Edge: Educating Prospective Customers
24:19 Key Metrics for Growth and Health
26:43 Cross-Functional Collaboration: Ensuring Team Alignment
28:22 Debunking Common Advice: The Reality of Passion
31:12 Managing Mental Health as a CEO
33:15 Looking Ahead: Scaling Accelsius
Where to find Josh:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-claman-3438731/
Accelsius: www.accelsius.com
Where to find Prateek:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateekmathur
Activated Scale: https://www.activatedscale.com
For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email prateek@activatedscale.com
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