Compiled by Pooja Singh and Nidhi Singh JULY 2019 l ENTREPRENEUR l 55
WHAT DID
YOU LEARN
FROM YOUR
PARENTS?
They are our biggest influencers,
teaching us every day about
hardwork and determinationMARK MACLEOD
CEO and Founder, Roll-it Super
My mum was both the
primary breadwinner and
primary caregiver for me and
my three siblings. She was an
entrepreneur since the age
of 18—a solo female ‘founder’
back in 1972. Her best
advice was not really advice
at all, it was learning and
reflecting on her example.
She demonstrated to me that
building a business requires
good decision making,
perseverance and grit over
many years. If it was easy,
everybody would be doing it.
RHYS HAYES
Co-founder, IE and Foyer
Don’t be a lawyer! Despite
both my parents being
lawyers and owning their
law firm, I think they felt
somewhat enslaved to their
early career choice. As it
turned out, I was never at
risk of following their path,
being an (at best) average
high school student. But
what I believe they really
meant was, if you want to
be an entrepreneur, create
something of sustaining
value, something that can
work for you, rather than you
work for it.FAN LONG
Co-founder, Conflux Foundation
My mother stressed that at the
end of the day, focus was the key
to success. But to achieve focus,
one had to be truly passionate
about the job at hand. And what
passion really meant was that
regardless of the inevitable
criticisms or praise, I’d have to
move forward.YUKI HE
CEO and Founder, LiveMe
Growing up, I learned a lot from my mother and my
grandmother. They both taught me the importance of
believing in yourself and following your own path to
become a strong, independent woman, which greatly
influenced my success as an entrepreneur.AMY READ
CEO and Founder, Gifts Less Ordinary
I learnt from my parents the importance of grit and
perseverance, to believe in yourself, yet always
be kind to others. My parents are my source
of inspiration and I guess you could say I got
addicted to the buzz of it all.
For many, the nurturing of the
entrepreneurial mindset starts at
an early age in the presence of
influencers, such as parents.
These entrepreneurs across the world
share what they learned from their
parents and how it helped them fare
better at work.LIFE LESSONS