Netflix is one of the most successful internet companies in the US. Not too long ago it released a 126 page slideshow on the internet about its company culture and what it stands for.

One part of it that I found interesting was in slide 23:

“We’re a team, not a family. We’re like a pro sports team, not a kid’s recreational team”.

I though this was interesting because so many companies today strive to have their employees think of the company like a family (admittedly that’s what we used to strive for at our company before although now we try to find a balance between the two). But here’s how a company that runs like a pro-sports team will function.

1) People will be in senior positions not because they’ve been there longer but because they’re capable.

Here’s the thing, in a family your elder brother or elder sister is someone you must respect not because of whatever he/she has done to earn that respect but because he/she is your elder and has been there longer than you.

In a family, bigger responsibilities are often expected to be given to the older brother/sister not necessarily because they’re the right people for the job… but because they’ve been there longer.

A professional sports team doesn’t function like that. The best people are put in the most important positions and roles based on how capable they are and not based on any given right for being at the team (or company) longer.

Everyone works as a team and must pull their weight. Anyone who doesn’t, must be dropped quickly or the team will suffer.

2) No one person in the team thinks he is bigger than the team 

Imagine a football team where all the strikers don’t work in passing the ball to each other in order to find the best opening to score a goal. Instead whenever they get a chance (even if it’s not a very clear chance) they each try for a goal on their own because they each want the glory of being the person who scores the goal.

It doesn’t matter if all the strikers are the best strikers in the world. If they play like that in a team, then the team fails because each person then is playing not for the team’s best interest but for their own.

If any one player thinks that he is bigger than the team, no matter how talented he is, he must leave the team or the team will go into a downward spiral of everyone then playing for themselves instead of the team.

3) Weak leaders are fired quickly

Manchester United is an inspiration for me in this particular point. When Sir Alex Ferguson retired, he handed over the exact same winning team to David Moyes who then messed it up for one entire season. Same team, different leader (and different coaching staff) and he failed. He was then fired.

In a family or in some family businesses, the elder brother is the leader because he’s the elder brother. No matter how incompetent he is, short of him doing something major to mess up the entire company into decline only would be he fired. By then it might have already been too late.

Why? In family or even family businesses we think about emotional attachments or love or respect among one another. We have a higher tolerance for incompetence because we think that’s what family is expected to do.

In sports teams, the only respect any leader gains is from performance and results. So anyone who doesn’t perform is kicked out.

4) People who don’t believe in the vision or direction of the team leave and are replaced by those who do

I’ve learned that people in teams sometimes must leave for renewal to happen. Look at Manchester United. This season they’ve brought in a different team and anyone can tell you that the past 2-3 games have showed a whole new different Manchester United than the one we were watching the last season.

That’s not really because the older players that left were weak players (Heck no… look at Welbeck or Kagawa now. They’re doing so well outside in their new clubs). But it’s because no matter how good a player is, if he doesn’t believe in the team and can’t work with the team as a team, then staying on with the team is bad for the team.

Now imagine if a company is run like a family and you can’t replace anyone.

5) Pro Sports teams strive for only one thing. 

And that is to win. Nothing else. Everyone is clear that the only objective is to do better than anyone else in your league. That if you’re an Italian restaurant then you strive to be the BEST Italian restaurant in your area. If you’re an online retailer you strive to be the best in your region.

Wouldn’t it be cool if everyone in the team knew exactly that. That their mission isn’t necessarily to work hard on their jobs. It’s actually to be the best.

I think people would love to be part of a team that wins.

———

An ending word:

Till today I don’t consider myself an expert when it comes to managing teams in spite of Co-Founding a company now that has over 170 employees. I’ve made many mistakes before in the past, some of them the very mistakes I talk about above. Heck I believe that an entrepreneur’s hardest job isn’t sales, cash-flow or things like that. It’s always managing people. Finding the right people for the right job and motivating them to be align with the company’s vision. All that is a lot harder than it sounds but I’m learning along the way.

We’re also hiring. You can click here to apply.

Netflix is one of the most successful internet companies in the US. Not too long ago it released a 126 page slideshow on the internet about its company culture and what it stands for.

One part of it that I found interesting was in slide 23:

“We’re a team, not a family. We’re like a pro sports team, not a kid’s recreational team”.

I though this was interesting because so many companies today strive to have their employees think of the company like a family (admittedly that’s what we used to strive for at our company before although now we try to find a balance between the two). But here’s how a company that runs like a pro-sports team will function.

1) People will be in senior positions not because they’ve been there longer but because they’re capable.

Here’s the thing, in a family your elder brother or elder sister is someone you must respect not because of whatever he/she has done to earn that respect but because he/she is your elder and has been there longer than you.

In a family, bigger responsibilities are often expected to be given to the older brother/sister not necessarily because they’re the right people for the job… but because they’ve been there longer.

A professional sports team doesn’t function like that. The best people are put in the most important positions and roles based on how capable they are and not based on any given right for being at the team (or company) longer.

Everyone works as a team and must pull their weight. Anyone who doesn’t, must be dropped quickly or the team will suffer.

2) No one person in the team thinks he is bigger than the team 

Imagine a football team where all the strikers don’t work in passing the ball to each other in order to find the best opening to score a goal. Instead whenever they get a chance (even if it’s not a very clear chance) they each try for a goal on their own because they each want the glory of being the person who scores the goal.

It doesn’t matter if all the strikers are the best strikers in the world. If they play like that in a team, then the team fails because each person then is playing not for the team’s best interest but for their own.

If any one player thinks that he is bigger than the team, no matter how talented he is, he must leave the team or the team will go into a downward spiral of everyone then playing for themselves instead of the team.

3) Weak leaders are fired quickly

Manchester United is an inspiration for me in this particular point. When Sir Alex Ferguson retired, he handed over the exact same winning team to David Moyes who then messed it up for one entire season. Same team, different leader (and different coaching staff) and he failed. He was then fired.

In a family or in some family businesses, the elder brother is the leader because he’s the elder brother. No matter how incompetent he is, short of him doing something major to mess up the entire company into decline only would be he fired. By then it might have already been too late.

Why? In family or even family businesses we think about emotional attachments or love or respect among one another. We have a higher tolerance for incompetence because we think that’s what family is expected to do.

In sports teams, the only respect any leader gains is from performance and results. So anyone who doesn’t perform is kicked out.

4) People who don’t believe in the vision or direction of the team leave and are replaced by those who do

I’ve learned that people in teams sometimes must leave for renewal to happen. Look at Manchester United. This season they’ve brought in a different team and anyone can tell you that the past 2-3 games have showed a whole new different Manchester United than the one we were watching the last season.

That’s not really because the older players that left were weak players (Heck no… look at Welbeck or Kagawa now. They’re doing so well outside in their new clubs). But it’s because no matter how good a player is, if he doesn’t believe in the team and can’t work with the team as a team, then staying on with the team is bad for the team.

Now imagine if a company is run like a family and you can’t replace anyone.

5) Pro Sports teams strive for only one thing. 

And that is to win. Nothing else. Everyone is clear that the only objective is to do better than anyone else in your league. That if you’re an Italian restaurant then you strive to be the BEST Italian restaurant in your area. If you’re an online retailer you strive to be the best in your region.

Wouldn’t it be cool if everyone in the team knew exactly that. That their mission isn’t necessarily to work hard on their jobs. It’s actually to be the best.

I think people would love to be part of a team that wins.

———

An ending word:

Till today I don’t consider myself an expert when it comes to managing teams in spite of Co-Founding a company now that has over 170 employees. I’ve made many mistakes before in the past, some of them the very mistakes I talk about above. Heck I believe that an entrepreneur’s hardest job isn’t sales, cash-flow or things like that. It’s always managing people. Finding the right people for the right job and motivating them to be align with the company’s vision. All that is a lot harder than it sounds but I’m learning along the way.

We’re also hiring. You can click here to apply.

A friend of mine has recently been thinking of quitting his job at a bank and starting a business. He asked me for advice both on starting a business and I gave him a few points that I thought would be interesting to share here. So if you’re thinking of becoming an entrepreneur and starting a business, here’s what you gotta keep in mind.

1) Is there a big company that would want to buy your company?

Everyone talks about exit strategies today. About how you could exit the business whether via an IPO or a trade sale to a bigger company. An IPO is a much bigger task and that’s a whole new issue for another article later on. But when it comes to trade sale, in order for you to sell your company someone else must not only see the value in buying your company, but that someone else must have the money to buy it.

So many internet startups neglect this one point and start apps or websites because it sounds like a good idea, without thinking about who would buy it. And we gotta be really honest with ourselves on whether these companies really will buy it. Have they bought companies like that in this space before?

There is a caveat to this though, and that is if you’re in a business not to exit or sell but to simply make money. Many businesses are like that. They’re not likely to get acquired because they probably draw low earnings multiples in terms of valuation but they make good money. I know many entrepreneurs with businesses like this. Whether it’s a restaurant chain or advertising agency. They don’t sell for a high price but they make good money and if that’s what you’re aiming for then great.

2) Are there much bigger companies overseas that do the same thing?

When looking at what your company is worth one important point is what are your comparables? What other companies in the same industry are trading at in terms of earnings or revenue multiples. These things help paint a picture and a story to future investors and give them a better idea on how to value your company.

For example, if you own a car classifieds website like iCar Asia does, you can go to investors in Australia and say “We’re like Carsales.com.au (which is a $2.32bn listed company in Australia trading at a 24.34 PE) but for SouthEast Asia which is a bigger market population wise.”

That helps paint a story of where your company will be drawing from a company that is already successful doing the exact same thing somewhere else. Chances are you’ll get a better valuation if your comparable is trading at a high valuation.

3) Can you find a seed investor?

One thing I used to think when I first started out is that it’s better to fund your startup yourself and gain traction first so that you can fetch a higher valuation when it does. That is true… a startup with traction fetches a much better valuation than just a business plan or an idea of doing a startup.

However what is less exciting than a business plan or an idea of a startup is a startup that has launched but is NOT gaining traction. And that is MOST startups. So it’s about risk and about how confident you are about your own startup. If you want to risk manage a little, then take in some seed funding just before you start. If your startup gains traction then good… it’s a happy problem to have. If your startup doesn’t gain traction then you’re gonna be glad you took in some money at the business plan stage.

Besides the one thing about taking in an early investor is that it’s some form of validation. That you’re not necessarily just building castles in the clouds but someone else believes in your startup and is wiling to put his money behind it.

4) Are there government grants you can get in this area?

I was surprised at the number of government grants the Malaysian government provides its businesses and I’m not just speaking about in the tech space like Cradle. I’ve seen grants from various industries. It’s a lot more work to get grants but hey if it’s out there for companies like yours, go get it.

5) Are you filling in a gap in the market or creating a market?

There are two types of businesses.

One that sees a need and fills it like logistic companies that see a need for logistics or a coffee place in an untapped suburb.

One that creates a desire and a market for itself. Like Apple did with the iPad. Nobody knew they needed an iPad until they had one.

Both type of businesses come with their pros and cons. The ones that just fill a need tend to be easier to get some form of traction because a market already exists there but chances are it’s a lot more competitive.

Those that create a market for itself tend to find it harder to get traction but when they do, they can hold a monopoly-like position at least for a while longer (like the iPad still does with the tablet market).

So if you’re trying to create a desire or a market then don’t be fearful if you don’t immediately gain traction. Go in with the right expectations.

——
And these are my two cents.

It’s Sunday morning. I had just finished a morning ride and I’m just sitting in the living room of my family home in Penang.

It occurred to me that it was time to blog again but I didn’t want to blog about anything too serious. Heck it’s Sunday. The day of rest for my mind so I’m gonna blog today about whatever comes to mind at this very second. I don’t know where this will lead and the title I’m gonna add to this entry will only be added at the very end of it. After seeing where my free writing has taken me.

Every time I come back to Penang I feel some level of nostalgia. Penang after all is the town I grew up in. The history of it is a little odd. My mom is from Ipoh and my dad from a small town in Johor called Kluang. How they both ended up in Penang? Well my mom’s Ipoh family had started some sort of a business in Penang so she moved to join the family business. And my dad with her.

Today both my parents call Penang home. Not Ipoh or not Kluang.

Today I too call Penang home. Looking back to the time when I was growing up in Penang I felt some level of bliss because of the ignorance that came with it. As a kid I always thought that Penang was the world. Or Penang was one of the biggest cities in the world simply because that’s all the world I knew. Yes my parents did bring me for some trips overseas but I never thought about the size or scale of the countries I visited. I was always thought they were the size of Penang. Of course I have heard of KL but I never went there much as a kid so I didn’t imagine much about it.

Our time was spent in malls that I grew too familiar with. Many of which are really old and run down today. There was KOMTAR, that we spent in our early days… and then came 1-Stop. Which was then the biggest mall in Penang at the time. I spent so much of my teenage years there because it was where all the cyber cafes were. Then came an even larger mall called Bukit Jambul Complex which was really far from where I was staying and then the malls we know today Gurney Plaza and Queensbay. All these old malls, even though they were arguably inferior to the ones in KL or Singapore…. we never felt that way perhaps because we never knew better. We never really knew what to compare it to. Yes we’ve been to some malls overseas but I’ve never really been long enough to fully experience or know it inside out to make a comparison. I was after all a kid.

Penang was the world for me because I didn’t know better. Today of course when I’ve seen more of the world I realize that while Penang is a fast growing and beautiful city, it’s far from the largest city in the world I once thought it to be.

It made me wonder… that maybe sometimes ignorance is bliss. Thinking that Penang was the world and not knowing the rest of the world where there is goodness but just as there is bad things too. People in the world who kill each other, people who cheat one another or people who do things to hurt one another motivated by jealousy or greed or… well the list goes on.

It makes me wonder… that if I had just continued living a normal life in Penang. An ignorant one… not knowing what goes on in the outside world. Not reading all the news I’m exposed to online or on TV, would I be in a happier place?

Is ignorance… then really bliss? And if we all strive to be happy in life… then shouldn’t we be pursuing ignorance in life instead of enlightenment ?

Haha I know. Really deep thoughts this morning. But I guess having a clear mind on a Sunday morning gives me these thoughts.

Something happened to me that really pissed me off today. I vented it all on my Dayre and had lots of comments there from other parents who struggle with the same thing.

So I decided to blog about it here as sort of a public service announcement so everyone will spread the word and tell other people WHAT NOT TO DO when you see another person’s cute baby in a mall or restaurant.

This is the story from my Dayre.

Here’s what happened. I was having lunch at this restaurant with @fourfeetnine@fightertiah and @wilson.

When we arrived the waiter asked if we needed a baby chair. I said yes please then took a seat.

I was sitting down with Fighter standing on my lap facing me. We were playing around and I was enjoying the moment when suddenly from the corner of my eyes I saw a set of hands coming through towards Fighter.

I looked up to see the waiter extending his hands out to carry Fighter.

I was like WTF but I didn’t know how to react. On one hand I wanted to tell him off and say “wtf do you think you’re doing ? I don’t know you. Hands off my son!”.

But I was torn. He didn’t mean any harm I’m sure (unlike assholes who try to cut line who obviously do), he just wanted to play with Fighter.

So I tried to stop him nicely by saying “Fighter doesn’t like other people to carry him” but he ignored it and went ahead.

The truth is Fighter is a friendly baby.

“He happily lets almost anyone carry him. ”

So he took Fighter in his arms and played with him for a while. Then sat Fighter down in his baby seat.

I was pissed. But I didn’t show it because I was torn. On one hand I’m like WTF! I mean if the waiter wanted to see my phone that I placed on the table, he wouldn’t have touched it without my permission right ?

So why would you go ahead and carry or touch my baby without asking me ?!?

ARRGGHHHH I WRITE ALSO ANGRY. IM TAPPING SO FUKIN HARD ON MY SCREEN ITS GONNA CRACK!

Plus I don’t know him. I don’t know if his hands were clean or he was having a cold that could pass on to Fighter.

On the other hand … Again. He probably meant no harm.

So I don’t know. The next time somebody touches my baby should I just say “HANDS OFF THE BABY ASSHOLE!!” And risk being perceived as rude myself…. Or just suffer in silence like I did this time round