Aim Higher: Interview with Ashik Ahmed, Co-Founder and CEO of Deputy
I recently went one on one with Ashik Ahmed, co-founder and CEO of Deputy.
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?
Ashik: I wasn’t always Deputy’s CEO – in fact, I’m an engineer at my core. During Deputy’s early days, I was the Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer so I was focused on building the product. It wasn’t until we raised funding that some investors urged me to take on the role of CEO. It had never crossed my mind until that moment.
That being said, I’ve learned a lot along the way and continue to. For instance, I’ve learned that it’s ok to not know how to do everything. As long as you hire the right people for the right roles, empower them, and trust them to make the right decisions, you’ll be in good hands. I remind myself that great CEOs come in different forms – at the end of the day, the team they hire actually makes all the difference.
Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?
Ashik: It’s quite an interesting – and unassuming – story of how Deputy came to be. It all happened after I met my co-founder, Steve Shelley, following my university graduation. At the time, Steve was running an aviation ground-handling business, which is no easy task. He was faced with a lot of pain points in managing his business. I observed the business’ inefficiencies and challenges, including things like what happens when an employee uses a sick day. It quickly became apparent to me that people are the top component of a successful business. I helped build some internal systems that simplified the workforce management process – all of which eventually led to the formation of Deputy.
My advice to others is this: If you can think of a business idea that has the potential to make others’ lives better, go for it.
Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?
Ashik: I often think figuratively to simplify complex ideas. In this case, I liken most businesses as makers of either a vitamin, a painkiller, or a vaccine:
Vitamin (the product makes people feel good)
Pain killer (the product improves people’s lives)
Vaccine (the product saves lives)
To test a business idea, one should consider asking themselves how many people will benefit because of their product, and how to best reach their desired audience. We’re all consumers, so if the business idea doesn’t genuinely solve a problem that many people face daily, it’s best to go back to the drawing board.
Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?
Ashik: There is no shortage of growth tactics. But there is only one universal concept that will work forever: know your customer and win the customer's heart. Make your customer LOVE you. If your customer loves you, there is nothing stopping you. Because they will bring their friends to you.
Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
Ashik: I’m not a salesperson or a marketer, but here’s a tip I can share with other leaders: Make sure your sales and marketing teams are targeting the same prospects. If your sales pitch is telling customers one thing, and marketing is doing something completely different, it’s not going to work. Alignment is crucial across the organization, but especially among the sales and marketing teams. A great Go-to-Market leader I once interviewed taught me this: there should be NO SPACE between “Sales&Marketing.”
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Ashik: Courage and humility are fundamental to leadership. Great leaders dare to listen, they dare to dream, and they dare to do.
Good leaders recognize that they don’t know everything, and they don’t have to. Leadership does not mean that you’re always the smartest person in the room. You just have to make sure that all of the problems that can ever arise can be solved. Trust your people – your team. You hired your employees for a reason; let them work their magic. Effective leaders must have the courage to make a change. They must be absolutely hungry for success or they’ll never find it. Aspiring leaders can expand their skills by possessing a high degree of intellect, curiosity, courage, and humility.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?
Ashik: Leadership is about three things: clarity, energy, and ownership. Providing a clear vision, infusing the team with energy toward that vision, and taking ownership of failure (and success) are what make a team successful.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?
Ashik:
1. You are who you are. Be authentic.
2. Dare to Listen. Dare to Dream. Dare to Do.
3. Be a yardstick of quality. The standard you choose to walk past is the standard you choose to accept.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Ashik: It’s hard to pick just one piece of advice, but here’s one that resonates quite deeply with me and one I always push to many: Aim higher. Being realistic is the most commonly traveled path to mediocrity. Life is too short to be mediocre.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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