In this 119th episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews Alex Lazarow, Venture Capitalist and Investment Director at Cathay Innovation and Author of the book Out-Innovate: How Global Entrepreneurs--from Delhi to Detroit--Are Rewriting the Rules of Silicon Valley. Alex Lazarow talks about how entrepreneurs around the world approach various problems differently in order to achieve success.
Episode Highlights:
● 00:24 – Jason Pereira introduces Alex Lazarow.
● 01:21 – Alex Lazarow talks about his book Out Innovate.
● 03:46 – What is a ‘camel’ company?
● 04:58 – Alex talks about what can be learned from Grubhub.
● 06:00 – Alex and Jason talk about the concept of ‘blitz scaling’ and Company types that it is applicable to.
● 09:26 – How many companies did he talk to when writing his book?
● 10:36 – What is going on in North Korea in the fintech scene?
● 12:41 – What is the most unconventional story of how a company grew that Alex heard when writing his book?
● 15:53 – Alex talks about a theme in his book about advantages that emerge from challenges.
● 17:33 – What are recurring themes did Alex notice when working on his Book Out-Innovate?
● 22:29 – North America has a lot of problems that need to be solved by companies with lessons learned from around the world.
● 24:43 – What would Alex Lazarow change in his business or industry?
● 25:34 – What have been the biggest challenges that Alex has faced?
● 27:24 – What kept Alex going and not giving up while writing his book?
3 Key Points
1. Alex Lazarow’s term ‘the camel’ is like the term ‘unicorn,’ but instead it is
businesses labeled a ‘real animal’ that can sustain in harshest environments by building a business model that works, managing costs and burn, and by taking a long-term view.
2. Within a context of adversity, there are advantages that come about.
3. The best entrepreneurs are creators, not disruptors.
Tweetable Quotes:
● “I work for a firm called Cathay Innovation, a globally-focused venture firm that invests across Asia, Europe, North American, and Africa. But, outside of work, I’ve been teaching an MBA class.” – Alex Lazarow
● “Outside the (Silicon) Valley, I coined the term ‘the camel,’ it is this idea of balanced growth, businesses that still want to grow really fast. But, still infuse their business with sustainability and resilience.” – Alex Lazarow
● (Out-Innovate book) “This is a 2-year effort. I interviewed about 200 entrepreneurs from around the world.” – Alex Lazarow
Resources Mentioned:
● Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook
● LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn
● FintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech Impact
● JasonPereira.ca – Sign up for Jason Pereira’s newsletter
● Linkedin – Alex Lazarow’s Linkedin
● Cathay Innovation – Website for Cathay Innovation
● Out-Innovate – Alex Lazarow’s Book