I recently went one-on-one with Adam Nash, co-founder and CEO of Daffy.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Adam: I’ve always been drawn to building things: products, teams, even communities. I grew up in Silicon Valley, and my career has taken me from engineering at Apple to product leadership at LinkedIn and Dropbox. But some of the most important turning points came in the in-between moments. After leaving Dropbox, I took time to think deeply about what I wanted to do next. The idea for Daffy came from the pandemic, a time when a lot of people wanted to give back but didn’t know how. I realized there hadn’t been much innovation in charitable giving, and it felt like the right challenge to take on.
Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business?
Adam: First, get really clear on why your company should exist and the real value you are providing to your customers. That sounds obvious, but I’ve seen too many businesses struggle because they weren’t aligned on their core purpose. Then, hire great people and prioritize relentlessly. Every startup has a million things it could do. The trick is to narrow that to the handful of things that really matter.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?
Adam: If you are building a high-performing team full of talented professionals, you won’t get the most out of them through direct command-and-control. My advice is to spend significant time on alignment: what game are you playing, and how do you keep score? If you have that level of clarity, then your role rapidly shifts to prioritizing the best ideas and ensuring the team has the resources to execute against them.
Adam: What are the most important trends in technology that leaders should be aware of and understand? What should they understand about them?
Adam: The rapid pace of technology innovation is a gift. Every five years or so, something that used to be very expensive and difficult becomes inexpensive and simple. What that means is that experience can and will work against you if you aren’t careful to always ask the question, “How would we solve this problem if we were starting today?”
Silicon Valley is currently in the process of a massive platform shift around AI, possibly as large or larger than the shift to the web. Every layer of the technology stack, and every part of every process, is being rethought by some talented team out there. Like every platform shift, there will be some who find success by *not* chasing the wave, but it is likely that far more will find success riding it. With so much focus on the technology itself, both its capabilities and its drawbacks, too many leaders are likely not thinking clearly about how rapidly consumer and business preferences will change due to the rapid success of AI-based products and platforms already in the market.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Adam: There are some dangers lurking in the definition of that word, “effective.” When you are building a great company, it’s not just about the products or profits you deliver today; it’s about the organization and capabilities that you are building over the long term. As a result, what makes an effective leader can vary significantly based on the stage of the company and market around you.
Adam Nash: Clarity, focus, and trust. The best leaders I’ve seen are crystal clear about what problem they’re solving and why it matters. They help their teams prioritize and focus, to help navigate an endless set of challenges and ideas. Most importantly, they build trust within the team. It’s hard for anyone to run full speed when they are constantly looking over their shoulders.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Adam: One of the very best aspects of Silicon Valley culture is its relative lack of hierarchy. I remember the first time, at 22 years old, when I walked up to Steve Jobs in the cafeteria at Apple with a comment and a question. Too many people guess at the motivations and rationales of leaders they respect, rather than actually learning from them, either directly or indirectly from their interviews and writing. This is why one of the single best things you can do to take your leadership skills to the next level is to work for leaders that you respect and admire. If you are in your early career and do not feel like you are learning from your manager and the leadership at your company, that is a good reason to look for a new role elsewhere.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Adam: You can only fake interest so long. Find problems that you are authentically passionate about, as there are few quick solutions when your goal is impact.
Surround yourself with talented people; it’s the only way to keep growing and learning.
Give yourself space for creativity. Prioritization and focus are critical, but it is in the quiet moments when less obvious solutions will present themselves.
Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?
Adam: The best advice in sales is to make sure that you tell your customer what you are going to do, do it, and then tell them you did it. A lot of marketing and brand building just reflects consistency and clarity in communicating the problem you will solve for your customers. For the best brands, it isn’t the company selling your product or service; it is your customers recommending it.
Adam: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Adam: The Prioritization Rule of Three. If you got in an elevator with the CEO of your company, and they asked you what you are working on, what would you say? What you should tell them are the three most important things you are doing. Most people are not intentional enough about their priorities. Whether you are talking about today, this week, this month, this quarter, or this year, you should always know what are the three most important things you are going to get done. We all have hundreds of things to do, and it is so easy to prioritize what’s simple or urgent over what is most important. This system is the best way to communicate your priorities and the best way to ensure you hold yourself accountable for executing on what is most important.
