Andrea Zanon
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Empowering leaders & entrepreneurs with strategy, partnerships & cultural intelligence | 20+ yrs international development | andreazanon.tech | Confidence. Culture. Connection.
Stories (304)
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Women are better CEOs and here is where the women led market is headed in 2022
At a recent Shark Tank episode where Billionaire Mark Cuban and other highly successful investors join him to get pitched live by aspiring entrepreneurs, Mr. O’ Leary, one of the show leaders, declared that "Women make better CEOs. He elaborated further “All things being equal, given the choice between a woman and a man, I would pick the woman every time." He explained that in 75% of his investment he has been successful because these companies have women in C suite role. If we break it down further, we find out that 55% of the companies he has invested recently, have a women CEO. Most of these investments are a recent change of his investment strategy where he prioritizes women CEO as a criterion to select start up and mid-cap company in which to invest. He is making more money in companies that are women led. Pure and simple according to him women are better at running companies and if they are publicly traded their stocks are less volatile.
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Motivation
Emotional intelligence boosts business growth and it should be prioritized during economic downturns
Emotional intelligent people can identify, manage, evaluate, and understand their own emotions and the emotions of people they interact with. We can think of emotional intelligence as the combination of your personality, charisma, and social awareness. When Salovey and Mayer two of the global experts created the expression emotional intelligence in 1990, they described it as "a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action." Another way to think of Emotional Intelligence, is to combine, Self-Awareness + Social Awareness, and Self-Management + Relationship Management. No matter what definition you follow, most subject matter experts including TalentSmart, agree that among 33 critical professional skills prioritized, emotional intelligence is the leading differentiator in work and personal performance, and it is responsible for over 60% of people professional’s and personal achievements.
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Motivation
What I learned from billionaire Warren Buffet
I have attended 5 Berkshire and Hathaway shareholders meeting which typically take place in Omaha, Nebraska at the beginning of May. These meetings are also known as the “Woodstock of Capitalism” as they attract between 30 to 40 thousand attendees every year. The shareholders meetings are chaired by the two billionaires Warren Buffet and Charlie Monger. They are each worth roughly $100 billion. The two financiers are respectively 92 and 98 years old and they have not lost the mental fitness that has allowed them to build a value investing empire.
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Education
My Message to Entrepreneurs: Nobody cares about you. At least not yet. Get used to it!
The overnight business success does not exist. Success stories are the result of restless efforts, market feedback (failures) and prolonged persistence. Some of the companies that come to mind as I think of success are, Lululemon, Amazon, Apple, Zappos or Yoox.com. These are companies I use every day and got to extreme success because of extreme dedication, patience, huge risk taking and extreme focus. It took these companies an average of 10 years to become the force-multiplier they are today. Those other companies that grow too rapidly and reach the unicorn status in say 2 years, they either are in trouble because of excessive growth, or they do not exist anymore. Peloton is one company that comes to mind when thinking of temporary success followed by failure. Peloton was a Covid 19 success story, best known for its at-home exercise bike that features a large screen on the front of the bike. The company grew too fast and got the leadership disconnected from reality. As a result, the stock crashed, and it is now at 7$ down about 2000% from the Covid peak of $151.
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Lifehack
Reputation Management in the Aftermath of the Panama Papers
In April 2016, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published a massive leak of sensitive documents known as the Panama Papers. The leak consisted of 2.6 terabytes of data from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, and linked 140 world leaders from more than 50 companies to secret offshore accounts in 21 different tax havens. By the end of the year, about 80 investigations in 150 countries had started.
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Education
ESG and Sustainability will Continue to Gather Momentum and Attract Billions of Dollars in Investments
Momentum is building around ESG. Policy makers, asset managers and business are now more willing to integrate ESG and sustainability thinking in their investment strategies. Furthermore, President Biden has successfully approved a half a trillion Climate Bill creating positive momentum on ESG actions and climate risk reduction.
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Earth
Raising Capital During Crisis for Early-Stage Companies
Raising capital over the last 10 years has been relatively easy and inexpensive. This was due to the large impact of the 2008 financial crisis which led to low interest rates and cheap capital. Cheap capital triggered more risk taking from both investors and entrepreneurs, resulting in more debt and more risky assets in search for better financial returns. Abundant capital led also to unsustainable valuations particularly in tech startups.
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Motivation
Entrepreneurs: Develop a Commitment Plan not an Exit Plan
Entrepreneurs are typically advised to develop an exit strategy before going into business because the choice of exit plan has a significant influence on business growth. An exit strategy also seems to make your business more attractive to investors and partners. While we should always be prepared for exits, I am going to argue that if you are launching a new venture you need to focus on making the decisions that commit your company to be a long-term player. I am saying this because planning for an exit even before launching your company is a distraction and a compromise that will slow your business as opposed to growing it. To quote the great author of Re-Work “Would you meet with a divorce lawyer the morning of your wedding?” You get the point, right?
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Motivation
How to raise capital during crisis if you are an early-stage company
Raising capital over the last 10 years has been relatively easy and inexpensive. This was due to the large impact of the 2008 financial crisis which led to low interest rates and cheap capital. Cheap capital triggered more risk taking from both investors and entrepreneurs, resulting in more debt and more risky assets in search for better financial returns. Abundant capital led also to unsustainable valuations particularly in tech startups.
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Education
On International Peace Day, Russia Expands its Aggression into Ukraine
Every year people around the world celebrate International Peace Day on 21 September. While this year International Peace Day was observed on the 15th of September, many countries are celebrating it today. The United Nations General Assembly has declared this day to be a moment dedicated to strengthening peace advocacy and fighting racial tension. This celebration manifests itself through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire every year.
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Education
ESG is the Necessary Evil, and the Markets and Entrepreneurs are Taking Full Advantage
A few months ago, I published a piece arguing that ESG will become the new bottom line. This is not a politically motivated statement, and I don’t fully agree with the ESG approach. I do believe however, it is time to change, and it is time for executives, entrepreneurs, and investors to appreciate we are at an economic and societal transition point. This transition will force us to engage the consumer base more dynamically, while placing greater efforts to decarbonize our business operations. These issues are both good for business and good for society provided companies and investors are willing to take risk and change. Capitalism models should be leveraged to create profits while absorbing the societal problem-solving more systematically. Please note that I have adopted a rather broad definition of ESG in my analysis to ensure I capture the sustainability, clean tech, and climate risk investment trends.
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Earth
An Interview With Andrea Zanon About His Newest Venture, Confidente
Question: How did you come up with the idea for Confidente? Andrea Zanon: Over the years, I realized that building trust was the core value that transformed all my relations. I thought of “Confidente,” which in the Italian language is the person you trust, as I learned to build trust as the best way to succeed in life. Everybody needs a Confidant in life and that is why I created this venture, to better serve and empower the community to make better decisions for happiness and more impactful living.
By Andrea Zanon3 years ago in Interview
