Hearing and Listening

I recently spoke to Paul Crusius about his best business, entrepreneurship and leadership advice. Paul is the co-founder and CEO of Hear.com, the fastest-growing hearing care company in the world. Headquartered in Miami and Berlin, Hear.com is active in ten countries and employs more than 1,200 people.

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?

Paul: I’ve always known I wanted to build my own business, so when I could I went straight to business school. I figured out I needed to get to know a lot of different industries in order to pick the one that made the most sense for me. I landed a position at Boston Consulting Group that provided exactly that opportunity. Every 2-3 months, I’d get a new project in a new industry.

The difficult part in starting a business is figuring out exactly what the market needs. Many teams go wrong here because it is so tough to observe, listen and execute precisely. This is also the prerequisite to scale the business in a fast and high-quality way.  

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? 

Paul: I was put on a consulting project in the hearing care space and fell in love with it. It’s a wonderful hybrid of consumer business and healthcare and the perfect space in which to start a business – the potential to build a great company and have a positive impact on the health of millions is enormous. My advice to younger entrepreneurs looking to start a business is to think similarly; find something you’re passionate about and make a business of it. It will feel that much more exciting to get it off the ground.

Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?

Paul: We knew the need for our product was out there – it was our business model that took it to the next level. You can get just about anything delivered these days; clothes, alcohol, food, even groceries – why not medical care? Some patients don’t have the capability to meet with a doctor or audiologist in person but truly need hearing care for a better life. Developing a platform that allowed a potential customer to connect one-on-one with an audiologist and have a personalized fitting through a video call eases that process for them.

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?

Paul: One of the most crucial initial steps in starting a business is the people. You need great people with a strong passion and an aggressive work ethic to get a business off the ground. Many companies stay small because they have a hard time scaling their team which in turn hurts the progression and growth of the business. Establish a reliable, and aggressive team, understand the pain points your customers are dealing with and you’ll be building momentum in no time.

Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?

Paul: For me a great sales approach starts with excelling at active listening. That is a rare skill that is highly underestimated by surprisingly many people in business. Then I have to mention Dr. Robert Cialdini`s six principles of persuasion. In my point of view this is the single most important body of work that is exceptional guidance to everybody who works in sales and marketing. I got the inspiration from a speech by Charlie Munger (Warren Buffet’s business partner) who stated about the Cialdini’s book Influence: “And if you have half as much sense as I think you do, you will immediately order copies for all of your children and several of your friends. You will never make a better investment.” I could not agree more and followed his advice.

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?

Paul: That is a tough one as you wish for so many qualities in leaders. Myself, I am looking for the ability to inspire, the courage to talk straight and a bias for execution. Strong coaching capabilities, creative problem-solving skills and a healthy tolerance for ambiguity become increasingly relevant in the high growth digital space that we are innovating in. Integrity and team-orientation are clear table-stakes for every leader.

To further shape your leadership style, I find it incredibly helpful to work on as many different projects and jobs as you possibly can. That way your ability to relate to individuals is strengthened, you get to learn truly new perspectives and will be able to derive new creative solutions. Another important aspect to evolve as a leader is to deeply engage in studying human psychology in action and in theory. In the end we are in a people business, i.e. understanding personalities, motivations, biases and group dynamics is key to success.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?

Paul: That is a good one. I have some learnings earned the hard way here. When you build the team, ensure that you get diversity right – diversity in all sorts of dimensions: background, personalities, expertise and motivation. This is tough to do but yields much better outcomes. Then, it is all about the team, not about individuals – just like the Golden State Warriors stated it is about “Strength in Numbers”. The team gets the results, the team gets the fame. The individuals are contributors to the team success not the other way around. In terms of managing teams I found big, hairy audacious goals as highly effective. Nothing is more powerful than a tough goal that is worth fighting for. Achieving this goal is winning. And winning as a team in a game that is meaningful (i.e. relevant to many people) is one of the most beautiful feelings out there.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?

Paul: Always hire for passion, celebrate success often and try to get enough good sleep.