Krystian

I first moved to the UK when I was twenty, and my first job was as a temporary fruit picker working in Kent. From there, I took on various roles in factories and basic office work, gradually working my way up. Today, I'm the founder of RobotZebra, a company specialising in digital marketing and helping businesses generate new revenue.

When asked what makes a great entrepreneur, I believe that sheer willpower is often the most important factor in achieving success. There's no 'secret pill' or magic formula. Instead of looking for one moment of exponential growth, I find it far more important to focus on growing by 1% every day.

My journey into digital marketing began when I bought a used laptop and taught myself how to build websites. I sold my first website for £50. From there, I learned how to ensure that the websites I built appeared at the top of search engine results, and in the process helped a local B&B owner grow his business to the point where he could quit his day job and focus solely on his B&B.

For a time, I freelanced in digital marketing, traveling the world as a digital nomad. However, when I returned to the UK, I decided to turn my freelance work into a full- scale agency, with the goal of making a bigger impact by employing more people.

Since launching RobotZebra just over three years ago, the company has quickly expanded, and we now employ fourteen people across a range of specialisms.

When it comes to hiring, my biggest priority isn't a person's CV. Skills and knowledge can be quickly learned with the right support and training, but you can't change someone's character. Personal responsibility, ownership of tasks, and honesty are all much more important to me. My rule for hiring people is simple: I'd want to feel comfortable giving them the keys to my house and coming back a week later to find everything intact.

I believe that culture is crucial in a workforce. Everything in my company ultimately leads back to me. If a task isn't delivered promptly to a client, perhaps I didn't provide the necessary support or a clear briefing to my team. It's not about making excuses for employees; it's about taking responsibility. Employees exist within structures set out by leaders, and sometimes supporting them means analysing and improving those structures.

While future growth plans might include a central office space, RobotZebra is currently fully remote. This setup allows us to tap into a wider talent pool, reduce pollution from transport, lower costs for staff, and eliminate paper use. Every morning, we hold a whole-team meeting to plan the day's tasks, ensuring the smooth running of the company.

I also encourage individual team members to create training sessions to educate their colleagues. This not only improves internal efficiency but also helps upskill the team, with healthy competition among employees driving the development of the company's skills.

Finally, I can't overstate the importance of having a solid set of mentors in business. Entrepreneurs need trusted friends who are more experienced in the business world and can offer honest advice and feedback. In turn, this should create a circle of mentorship, where entrepreneurs like myself are there to support those who are less experienced in their careers.