Leadership Journeys [149] - Sharat Potharaju - "Micromanage the process, not the person"

Choosing Leadership with Sumit Gupta

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.

I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.

Dive into the dynamic world of entrepreneurship and leadership with Sharat Potharaju, co-founder and CEO of BeaconStack, in this insightful podcast episode.

Sharat shares his incredible journey from growing up in South India to becoming an investment banker in New York and finally venturing into entrepreneurship.

Gain valuable insights into the art of long-term thinking versus short-term action, the significance of prioritization in a growth-stage company, and the delicate balance between strategic and tactical decision-making.

Discover how BeaconStack is revolutionizing customer engagement across physical and digital realms, and uncover Sharat's personal tips for staying grounded and dreamy amidst the challenges of building a global software product company.

Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned leader, this interview is packed with wisdom to fuel your own leadership journey.

You can find Sharat Potharaju at the below links

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharatpotharaju/
• https://www.beaconstac.com/

In the interview, Sharat shares

• "BeaconStack, a SaaS company, is in the business of building customer engagement across physical and digital realms."
• "Our journey is about creating a global software product company, starting from India and expanding across the world."
• "Entrepreneurship and technology came naturally; the idea of creating impact was deep-rooted for me."
• "Long-term thinking is nice to say on a podcast, but implementing it is a lot harder. Act short term, dream in detail."
• "In a growth stage company, prioritization is a superpower. Decide the first three most important things to tackle."
• "Eat the frog first—tackle the most difficult, impactful tasks early in the morning."
• "Culture should stay the same; implementation evolves. Each leader adds their flavor, personality, and character to it."
• "Over-communicate when scaling; the challenge is keeping the original ethos as new hires outnumber the founding team."
• "Success requires tremendous timing; it's not just about product-market fit but founder-timing fit."
• "Dream about the problem you're solving and choose the right co-founder; it makes the entrepreneurial journey worthwhile."