EO Series #5 - Move Slow, Break Nothing (How To Build Generational Businesses, The Power of Starting Small, Balancing Speed and Perfectionism, Betting On Yourself) - Rishi Kohli

In business, how do you balance seizing opportunities quickly, without risking failure?

From Dubai to California, you hear the popular chant of "move fast and break things". They don’t show you the graveyard of businesses that operated with that mentality - Zuck could do it, but the rest have moved fast and broken their companies (and their people) to pieces.

Rishi has a better approach - drawing from his experiences of founding 4 diversified businesses, has learned the importance of starting small, growing gradually, and prioritizing quality before chasing rapid scalability. And he’s managed to this is in the toughest of industries (sustainability and renewable energy), in two separate regions (Middle East and Africa).

This philosophy is evident in his successful venture, FIKA Mobility, which offers innovative electric vehicles (EVs) powered by efficient battery swapping technology reducing the cost and speed of recharging EVs.

In this episode of EO Series of the My First Business Podcast, Rishi and I discussed about:

🤑 The greed that plagues some entrepreneurs (the pie is big enough!)

🤝 Best way of retaining people (how to have generational employees)

💖 Transparency, empathy and vulnerability with employees

🏇 Betting on yourself

✍️ Lessons learned from his entrepreneurial family (his father, mother, brother, aunts & uncles)

🛵 Investing in a e-motorbike business in Kenya

🏗️ Starting small and taking calculated risks

⚡ Balancing iteration speed and perfectionism

Now, my dear audience, the one main reason you should listen to this episode is solely because of Rishi’s captivating storytelling - he was so humble throughout the conversation, that I couldn’t tell I was sitting with boss of all bosses, and his warmth is something that will be sure to light up your day.

Where to find the podcast:

▶️ ⁠YouTube⁠

🎙 ⁠Spotify⁠

🎙 ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠

🎙 ⁠Google Podcast⁠

Where to find Rishi:

💼 ⁠LinkedIn

📸 ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠

🌐 ⁠Business Website - FiKA Mobility

🌐 ⁠Business Website - LEME Lighting

🌐 ⁠⁠Business Website - WaterWise Car Washing

Where to find me:

📸 IG: ⁠@the.naeem.parvez⁠

📸 IG: ⁠@myfirstbusinesspodcast⁠

💼 ⁠LinkedIn⁠

🖥 ⁠Website