People Are Everything: Interview with Paul Krasinski, CEO of Epicenter Experience

I recently went one on one with Paul Krasinski, co-founder and CEO of Epicenter Experience.

Adam: How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Paul: It certainly has not been a straight path. An entrepreneur's journey is always one of twists and turns. If it is straight, you are not living. (1) Brown University was an incredible learning community where I found my passion for people, and I realized that I was a connector – Hope High School classroom, basketball, dining hall conversations, as well. (2) Westwood One was where I realized that some companies were going to evolve and transform, and others would not. I also learned that big corporate culture might not be for me. (3) At Arbitron, I wasn't patient enough to let the ratings company, who had to protect the core and then extend the model, adopt innovation in digital. I left before the acquisition by Nielsen in favor of my first CEO job. It ended up being a mistake and dragged me to Austin. (4) Epicenter Experience – this is where I needed to test my inner core operating system to determine whether I could launch a concept and a company on my own and succeed.

Adam: How did you come up with your business idea and know it was worth pursuing? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with and test business ideas?

Paul: I have always been fascinated with people and how they make decisions. Also, where do these trends come from that gain immediate market adoption, and why weren't there more opportunities to change and shift the culture/society away from the focus on self? Thus, I thought, what if I could connect with every person in the world and create a unified voice? Could we lead change for people and drive better outcomes for companies? I had been in the market research space and mobile industries and saw that mobile device data could afford a much more granular, high-resolution understanding of consumer behavior if we put the consumer first. So that is what we did, and we looked at this opportunity to start with a blank canvas, which very few companies have an opportunity to do. But it was risky – very risky. We created a mobile app to test the dynamics of how consumers used their devices and whether they had any interest in downloading an app. This is how The People Platform was born. The key for me was having the experience in the market and understanding where the gaps were. We didn't view this as tearing down old norms, but rather, leveraging principles that were proven successful in implementing them differently in a more modern, innovative, and ultimately groundbreaking way.

Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?

Paul: Without question, the key step to growing and scaling your business is people – people as partners, people as clients, people as advisors, and people as curious beings. I learned early on that I didn't need to be the smartest person in the room or have all the answers. I was a connector, and my role was to bring the smartest, most creative, and qualified experts around the table and simply facilitate the conversation about how this could all come together. Many founders think they need to hold their ideas tight and their value to the company tighter, but I don't subscribe to this. I feel that if you can truly let go of the reins, knowing that you have the best people around the table, the magic will organically happen. It happens more quickly when your teammates feel empowered and passionate about the broader vision. The relationships with clients and early adopters should never be overlooked. These are people who are putting their name on the chopping block to see if you can deliver value in the way that you said you could for their company. It is important to always recognize, appreciate, and hold in the highest regard these early customers, as without them, there is no scaling the business. Finally, be fearless. When starting a company, it is really important that you are willing to call anyone, ask for advice, ask for the project, and take risks. It is not natural, but it is required, as the early information and interactions with customers and consumers is so crucial to establishing product/market fit because it greatly improves success.

Adam: What can entrepreneurs do to understand whether they have a customer and if so who that customer is? And how can entrepreneurs and businesses with limited resources best understand their customers and gain valuable insights from them?

Paul: The customer should always come before any structuring, product development, or theses are established. Someone once said to me that the priorities of any entrepreneur should be PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE, market, then product, in that order. Know the people you will work with; know the people that you will deliver products and services to; know the people who you will sell to because only then can you understand the true market potential for your idea and design the right product to address this market. Very often I have seen founders pontificate on who the ideal customer will be for their products/services, and in most cases, they were wrong. Going back to not having to be the smartest person in the room – in my case, I knew this to be true! – talk to as many people as you can, and the consumer will tell you what they want, how they want it, what the problems are, and why they are frustrated. Often the first product you launch is not the final one that is adopted in the market. In our case it was an app; then, we determined that people don't want to download an app. They want to interact and engage us in environments they chose, and we needed to listen and connect with them where they were. There are no easy shortcuts to this market research and understanding, as it is the one thing that needs to be solid if a founder is to receive funding or convince himself/herself that the idea is worth pursuing. Surrounding yourself with people who have deep market knowledge is helpful, but a founder must always validate and verify for themselves. 

Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing and branding tips?

Paul: I don't know whether I have "best tips," as this is something that I am constantly refining and improving. Also, these tips may differ from industry or type of business. What I can say is that it is imperative to have sales leadership that understands the market and has client relationships at the decision-maker level in order to be successful. Additionally, the founder must be the biggest cheerleader in the market for the vision, the idea, and the potential market – this is really important because the founder and head of sales must be able to speak about the future and where they are taking the market. I also subscribe to the keep it simple method, even with a complex technology platform, make sure it is described and communicated simply. There are no points for wowing a prospect who is too intimidated or doesn't understand well enough to buy your products. Remember that social media works. You can reach your audience of investors, brands, and business leaders through LinkedIn posts, and you would be surprised how effective this can be. Be everywhere you can be – it is important to be out there, in the streets, learning and promoting your business. It can be tempting to stay around the table and settle for groupthink, but the real branding and marketing hard knocks happen outside your safe, comfortable space. Get out and talk to people.

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

Paul: At the risk of sounding repetitive on the PEOPLE point – the role of the CEO is to connect with and attract the best talent, talent that fits within the culture. I have been in so many situations where an incredibly smart person has been hired, but the ability and adeptness to collaborate are weaknesses. The importance of people cannot be underlined enough. Once you have connected and recruited a great team, it is critically important that a CEO empowers their direct reports to own their functional area. While it may not always be my style or approach, if I believed in my teammate enough to put them in the seat, then I must trust them to execute. The founder/CEO needs to know when to let the team come together on their own. Early on, the founder knows everyone best, but it is imperative to step back and let teammates forge their own relationships and communication styles. This is incredibly crucial to the growth and development of the company, as the core leadership team members must be able to scale and collaborate together. They cannot always be coming back to the founder for guidance. This is not easy, and even as a parent, we may struggle with being the "helicopter dad." The same happens in a company and a culture. Definitely do not be a helicopter parent in your own company. This can stunt the personal growth and innovative contributions of the team and create an insecure attachment to the founder. Lastly, it is incredibly important to have a consistent way of measuring success and accountability. While you may be friends with your core team, it is important to give feedback in a clear, constructive, and consistent way so there are no looming feelings of unfairness or personal bias. This is important and can be difficult for a founder, as they feel like they are becoming too corporate, but fight this feeling – order and accountability are desired by all teammates (Note: even the ones that say they do not like it.)

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: This is a great question. I believe in any environment, leadership or among friends, communication is the most important quality. The communication needs to be clear to state your vision, get people aboard, receive feedback, and adjust the strategy while in motion. Communication can make or break companies – if you do not have open and honest communication as part of your culture, issues do not get addressed. Multiple visions may be pursued, and conflicts will be more challenging than they need to be. The second key quality is recognition. Recognize your people and make sure they know that you are always finding opportunities to spotlight them and their work. This goes so far and is often more important than financial incentives or promotions. Also, a true leader should be open-minded, open to feedback, open to changing, open to criticism, and open to abandoning something that doesn't work. This establishes a level playing field among ALL employees, ensuring they feel their voice matters and their ideas will be considered fully as part of the process of continuous improvement. Aspiring leaders today have an extra challenge with devices, social media, and the culture that we live in being very focused on individual achievement. It is often easier to communicate via devices – text, email, etc – rather than engaging someone in a dialog directly. This is a lost art for some, and it is a critical skill that needs to be developed. If aspiring leaders want to take their skills to the next level, I would recommend engaging, being proactive with teammates, and making time to visit with people in your culture, even when you don't "need" something. Authentic interaction goes a long way to build trust, community, and a true sense of who you are as a leader.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?  What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Paul: This is a tough one, but I have a few thoughts to share.

1) People are everything -– there is a complex web of people that makes a company’s ecosystem possible and then successful. Focus on people above all else.

2) You must collaborate to survive – regardless of how clear your vision is and how certain you are that success is real, you need a village of 'others’ to help, and they need to feel like they are part of the process in order for you to achieve your full potential.

3) Solve your customers’ problems and your problems will be solved – the best piece of advice that I ever received was to put your hand into the middle of any circle so that those who shake your hand can become partners. Those who do not, you would not have known anyway, so no harm, no foul. This was stated clearly to me from my mentor in college who recognized that I was a connector – "a resource investigator," as he called it. He urged me to ACTIVELY engage people, to understand them and their needs, and to be daring enough to blindly put my hand in the middle to contribute. This is where vulnerability pays off and can be so helpful in seeing the bigger picture and positively impacting the lives of others in a meaningful way.

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Paul: Even though I have been an entrepreneur in the technology space, I recognize that there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction. This is why I developed a vision for creating a place where ALL people would be welcome to gather, connect, discover themselves and others, and collaborate to create solutions to positively impact the lives of all people. The Farmhouse is this place and represents the culmination of a vision that was 12+ years in the making, and as of April 2021 is coming to fruition. I can't wait to host you there.


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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