ENTREPRENEURISM
ENTREPRENEURISM
Podcast Description
What makes a successful entrepreneur? It’s certainly not just about spotting opportunities. The entrepreneurial journey is full of tensions that must be managed. The most successful master the balance between vision and execution, short-term demands and long-term goals, opportunities and distractions. ENTREPRENEURISM unpacks what separates great entrepreneurs from the rest, mining the entrepreneurial journey for practical insights. Hosted by CEO coach Scott Pollack, this podcast brings you candid conversations, bold ideas, and actionable strategies from entrepreneurs who have built thriving ventures. Ready to unlock your full potential? This is the show for you.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers a range of topics, including resilience in entrepreneurship, team dynamics, and strategic decision-making. For instance, episodes feature discussions on parallel entrepreneurship with guests like Yoan Rigart-Lenisa, highlighting his approach to identifying market gaps, as well as the challenges of managing multiple business ventures. Other episodes, such as one with Xavier Naville, focus on overcoming imposter syndrome and creating an empowering team culture.
What makes a successful entrepreneur? It’s certainly not just about spotting opportunities. The entrepreneurial journey is full of tensions that must be managed. The most successful master the balance between vision and execution, short-term demands and long-term goals, opportunities and distractions. ENTREPRENEURISM unpacks what separates great entrepreneurs from the rest, mining the entrepreneurial journey for practical insights. Hosted by CEO coach Scott Pollack, this podcast brings you candid conversations, bold ideas, and actionable strategies from entrepreneurs who have built thriving ventures. Ready to unlock your full potential? This is the show for you.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder and original CEO of BitMEX, joins Scott to discuss how he transformed a belief in crypto into the world’s first crypto derivatives unicorn. He didn’t set out to disrupt financial systems—he just wanted to build the trading platform he wished existed. In this candid conversation, Arthur opens up about his early crypto convictions, why product-market fit was non-negotiable, and the painful cost of hiring the wrong people. As BitMEX scaled from 13 to 300 people in three years while growing the top line 350X, he navigated regulatory headwinds, media storms, and the challenge of keeping culture intact in a high-risk, high-reward industry.
⏱️ Timestamped Show Notes
- [00:00] Cold open: Arthur’s #1 lesson—hire better people.
- [00:34] Show intro and guest welcome.
- [02:17] Arthur’s entrepreneurial origin story—jumping into crypto after losing his job.
- [04:05] From trading derivatives to building a platform: the BitMEX birth story.
- [05:08] Confidence and conviction when funding was scarce.
- [07:10] Product-market fit: why charging from day one mattered.
- [08:29] Pivoting to meet customer demand: offering 100x leverage.
- [11:11] Founder struggles—why HR was Arthur’s biggest pain point.
- [14:43] Overhiring, overpaying, and dealing with toxic culture.
- [16:25] Navigating the regulatory gray zones in crypto.
- [18:41] Staying focused through uncertainty.
- [19:06] Quick Fire Hacks:
- [21:02] One key lesson: Be more selective in hiring.
- [22:16] Advice to new founders: Don’t build a business just to please your VC.
- [23:03] Show outro.
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