Start a company to solve a problem you care deeply about. If you truly care, you will find success.
Jake Rosenfeld is the Co-founder and COO of Bonsai, a 1:1 video chat platform for business and career advice.
Prior to starting Bonsai, Jake was an Investor at Correlation Ventures, a venture capital firm with more than $365m under management. While running Correlation’s New York City office, Jake led the firm’s investments in 17 companies, including Overtime, Bravely, and Burrow. Jake serves as an Advisor to the New York Fashion Tech Lab and a Mentor at Techstars.
Tell us a little bit about your current projects. What exciting milestone would you like to share with our readers? (Don’t hesitate to delve into your achievements, they will inspire the audience)
Jake Rosenfeld: I am the Co-founder and COO of Bonsai, a 1:1 video chat platform for business and career advice.
We empower people to solve professional challenges through meaningful conversations and have helped hundreds of people connect the dots along their paths: new jobs, funding, partnerships, and game-changing professional advice.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Jake Rosenfeld: Starting up is never easy. When we were first getting Bonsai off the ground, we launched a job recruiting product that failed to attract users.
Although it was painful, we never considered giving up. Instead, we rolled up our sleeves, unpacked what mistakes we made, and eventually uncovered what our core consumers truly wanted a company like ours to deliver. This process guided a massive pivot for us, which led to a successful re-launch. Resilience is the most important key to success.\
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Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received. But let’s reverse the question. What’s the worst advice you received?
Jake Rosenfeld: By far, the worst advice I ever received was to “build in private so nobody can steal your idea”.
It is imperative, when starting a business and product from scratch, to capture feedback and advice along the way. The ways in which others perceive your value proposition should dictate what you do and don’t do, as a company. You must build in a confidently transparent manner.
Resilience is critical in critical times like the ones we are going through now. How would you define resilience?
Jake Rosenfeld: To me, resilience is best summarized by a very famous Winston Churchill quote – success is the ability to move from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm. Stay the course and never give up!
When you think of your company, 5 years from now, what do you see?
Jake Rosenfeld: We are building Bonsai to become THE platform for advice and meaningful conversations… regardless of the topic.
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You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Jake Rosenfeld: My answer would be:
- Humility – There are many times when others know better than you, so it is important to look to those individuals for guidance, suggestions, and answers.
- Curiosity – It is important not to take everything communicated to you at face value.
- Warmth – People like and deserve to be treated with respect and kindness.
How important do you think it is for a leader to be mindful of his own brand?
Jake Rosenfeld: It is incredibly important for a leader to be mindful of her own brand. Her actions are a reflection of her company’s values. And without clear central values, a company can easily crumble.
What’s your favorite leadership style and why?
Jake Rosenfeld: Julius Caesar is a leader I greatly admire. He led from the front and, personally, knew most of his troops by name, a trait that earned him loyalty.
What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
Jake Rosenfeld: Start a company to solve a problem you care deeply about. If you truly care, you will find success.
What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
Jake Rosenfeld: I am a believer in fate and live life believing that, “everything happens for a reason”.
This interview was originally published on ValiantCEO.
