Being an entrepreneur can be a tough and challenging journey, but it is also extremely rewarding. To help you succeed in the world of entrepreneurship, we sit down with those that have already paved their own path to success. To better understand how they do it and what they’ve learned along the way.
Our own Matt McComb had the pleasure of sitting down with Lior Klisman, an accomplished entrepreneur and consultant with years of experience working with startups and investors. Today, we are sharing the wisdom that Lior has gained on his own journey to success.
What are three things you think every entrepreneur should know?
According to Klisman, every entrepreneur should be comfortable with failing. Entrepreneurs experience extreme highs and lows and often get rejected or shot down – being able to accept failure and move on from rejection is crucial. The key is to fail fast and move forward. At the end of the day, failure is simply an opportunity for learning.
The second thing every entrepreneur should know is the importance of genuinely caring about and loving the product/service you’re offering. Entrepreneurs should care about the problem they are trying to solve and understand their users or customers. “It’s about having a passion for what you’re doing and having a passion for making other people’s lives better in extension, right?” – quote from Lior Klisman.
Klisman emphasizes that the biggest gratification for entrepreneurs comes from creating something that people love and finding success in what they have created. This extends to employees, who should feel at home in the workplace and customers who should rave about the product or service offered.
Lastly, perseverance is essential for every entrepreneur. As mentioned above, entrepreneurs go through many highs and lows throughout their startup journey. It’s crucial to remember why you started and to continue to believe in your idea – even in the face of obstacles and naysayers.
Tell us about the problem your business solves and who are your customers.
Lior explains that his business, Sentant, helps small startups and venture capitalist funds overcome growth problems, particularly from a technological standpoint. Their focus is on helping clients be more secure, compliant with regulations, and able to scale their team’s workflows. This includes internal teams as well as potential sales, clients, and investors.
What inspired you to become an entrepreneur and would you do it again?
Klisman credits his parents’ friends, who were small business owners, for sparking his interest in entrepreneurship from a young age. He had the privilege of spending time in their offices, learning about running a business and building his curiosity for it. Klisman also attended an entrepreneurship program at the International School of Brussels where he had the opportunity to meet business leaders from all over the world and gain valuable knowledge from them.
Ultimately though, Klisman’s love for tech, his desire to help others, and his passion for creation are what led him to pursue entrepreneurship. He enjoys the risk involved with running your own business as well as the feeling of pushing himself to create something that will benefit others. When asked if he would do it all over again, Klisman answered without hesitation that he would.
Klisman’s story is a testament to the importance of finding inspiration and pursuing one’s passion. By surrounding oneself with like-minded individuals and seeking out opportunities to learn and grow, it’s possible to turn a passion into a successful career as an entrepreneur.
Knowing what you know now, if someone gave you a million dollars when you started your business, what would you have spent it on?
Lior Klisman’s response to this question may surprise some. He wouldn’t take the million dollars, instead choosing to spend it on giving it back to the person who offered it to him. According to him, it’s wrong to make plans for a million dollars before having a clear idea of how it can help the business. He is a strong believer in bootstrapping and believes that businesses should begin with limited resources and scale up as they grow.
However, if he were in a position where his product was ready for launch to market and began exploring product-market fit, he would allocate the funds as follows: 60-70% for R&D, 10-20% for sales and marketing, and the remaining amount for legal operations and other related expenses.
He also believes that if you already have a business coming out of stealth, a lot of work can be done with far less than a million dollars.
Lior Klisman sees fundraising and investment as an obligation rather than an accomplishment because when someone invests in your business, you owe them. Whether it’s venture capital or personal investment, it is a big obligation that should not be taken lightly. While getting an investment can be seen as a milestone, the real accomplishment comes when you exit or sell your business. As such, Lior Klisman is wary of treating fundraising as an accomplishment and instead sees it as a responsibility to deliver on the promises made to investors.
What is your proudest accomplishment as an Entrepreneur?
Klisman shared that growing his company from zero to a 40-employee team, with no outside investment or loans, and eventually getting acquired for multi-million dollars was his biggest achievement.
However, what makes him most proud is how he was able to help his employees by securing their future and helping them achieve their personal goals, such as buying homes or sending their kids to college. Klisman believes that his company’s success starts with his employees, and that is more important than anything else.
To succeed as an entrepreneur, you should be comfortable with failure, care about the problem you are trying to solve, and persevere through challenges. It’s also important that entrepreneurs recognize the importance of their team and work together as one to achieve success – as a business and as people.
Klisman’s approach to entrepreneurship shows that success is not just about making money, but it’s also about empowering and supporting others. His dedication to his team and his desire to give back are qualities that all entrepreneurs can learn from.
Are you an entrepreneur with some tips, tricks, and experience-gained knowledge to share? We’d love to chat with you about your own journey to success! Get in touch with us today so that we can get your wisdom into the hands and heads of other soon-to-be entrepreneurs.
