Enterprenuer
Kristian Kabashi transforms business processes using a solid philosophy that encourages creative thinkers and strategists.
Kabashi states that a lot of innovation is still human.
Advanced technologies are used to automate repetitive work.
This is the path to the future of work.
Kabashi, the co-founder of Swiss fintech startup Numerics, is responsible for developing reliable and competent business finance services using integrated machine learning and artificial intelligence.
This has transformed the entire Swiss accounting industry.
What is the story of Numarics?
Numerics has been an overnight success for ten years.
It all started around ten years ago with an argument at the coffee table with my ex.
I remember her as an auditor at a leading consulting firm.
I was watching her daily Excel work, matching numbers and checking them for accuracy, and once I said to her, “You know that your job is almost certain to be automated in the future.”
It is evident to me, even though I can’t remember how mad she got when I said it to her.
The idea of automating business processes was something that I had always wanted to do, but I didn’t have enough financial experience.
This changed when I met my co-founder, an auditor, and a finance expert. The rest is history.
How do you stay productive?
I’m a creative, agile person. The structure is a crucial element in my life to harness my creativity and innovation power.
This is another way to describe my unstructured and chaotic nature.
Every day starts at 6 am. I start with coffee and go to the gym for an hour.
There, I can listen to audiobooks or podcasts.
Then I take out my notebook, which has recently been called wipebook.
It is a reusable scrap paper, and I note the top three priorities I want to accomplish by the end.
These priorities are chosen from a backlog that I keep every Monday morning.
It lists all the things I want to achieve in the week.
The remainder of the page can record thoughts and inputs from daily meetings.
This working method allowed Numerics to increase delivery speed and maintain quality.
Intermittent fasting is a way of eating only within a limited time frame.
It has been my practice for many years.
It means that I eat lunch at noon and dinner at 6 pm. That’s it.
This helps me to be more focused and simplifies my day.
I get to bed at 10 pm. It helps me plan better and keeps track of my day by having a few anchor points.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Every problem/idea is broken down into its fundamental parts.
From there, I can extrapolate and test my hypotheses.
When we founded Numerics, I didn’t know much about accounting, but I did recall some basics.
I discovered that the first principle was booking.
Over 800 years ago, the rules of accounting and booking had remained unchanged.
They follow a very predictable and rigid system.
Once I realized that booking was, in fact, a more complicated way of IFTTT (If this is then that), I was able to develop the idea and translate it into what we now call Numerics.
More than a decade ago, in my early years of project management, I believed in the Waterfall method.
Although it was against my nature, the clearly defined structure of a project helped me think things through.
Today, I rely only on agile methods such as Scrum.
I break down every project into user stories that explain each step.
Each idea is executed by creating a backlog that lists every step needed to turn it into reality.
Next, I assign time to these tasks and determine the resources required to make them happen.
Once I have done this assessment, I can predict the outcome.
However, I don’t make the mistake of starting a project only to realize that it won’t work.
Daydreaming is another critical step.
Many daydreaming involves an interest in totally unrelated topics or subject matter that connects to a unique perspective on an idea.
What’s your favorite trend?
Blockchain technology is, for me, a way to digitize trust.
I believe in total transparency and genuine democracy.
Like many things in life, which are logical and evident, I think that Blockchain technology will be the next step in social evolution.
It is what mobile was in the 1990s.
Blockchain is also associated with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
I believe that Bitcoin will eventually overtake gold as a finite investment opportunity in the next decade.
Every disruptive technology appears crazy at first. But it turns out to be quite normal.
What habits make you productive?
To simplify, amplify. Before I begin a task or project, I ask myself the following question: What if this were easy? These brain exercises help me visualize the goal and how to get there.
Although it’s not an easy task, it becomes easier over time. It’s definitely worth the effort.
Sleep is one of the most valuable and easily managed resources that we don’t use enough.
My bedtime is 10 pm, and I wake up at 6 am.
My friends and family often think I am boring, especially on weekends.
However, if you want to achieve top-level results for a long time, it is easier and more efficient to get good quality sleep.
When it comes to working, I wear a black shirt.
This is a habit I have been following for many years.
I was forced to change my work shirt from a black shirt that had been in my laundry a few weeks ago.
My coworkers were shocked to see me because they had grown up seeing me in black.
You will have more time and energy to spend on the essential things if you make unnecessary decisions in your life.
What’s your advice for the Noob?
Do not take yourself too seriously. The world is more significant than you think.
Problems that seem large right now will disappear in a few days or months.
Keep your eyes on the prize and trust the process.
What is one thing we can all agree on?
It is irrelevant that anything matters. We are on this planet for a finite amount of time.
Imagine how many coincidences it took to make you the person you are reading this.
A man can produce approximately 500 billion sperm cells during his lifetime.
My opinion is that it doesn’t matter if you have a lifetime to make it count.
What do you recommend as an entrepreneur?
Retrospectives! Every day is a busy one.
It is essential to do a retrospective once or twice per week with yourself and the people working on a particular task.
Retrospectives allow you to learn from your mistakes and identify the best practices that will help you move forward.
There is no need to change in a global Enterprise like Dentsu International, where I am the Global Executive director of Business Transformation, or as a co-founder at Numarics’ startup.
The benefits that retrospectives bring are unparalleled.
This is the most critical part of being an entrepreneur.
Many entrepreneurs ignore it and make the same mistakes again and again.
It is vital to have an objective mirror to help diffuse the tension that can build up over time.
What’s your rich strategy?
I have found that creating an excellent pilot project was one of my most successful strategies, even though it was free.
This project is a great way to present your idea to clients and investors as a business case.
Another benefit is that you get to test your product or business idea.
Working closely with the pilot receiver allows you to narrow down the persona you want to target moving forward.
The pilot attendee acts as your first spokesperson for your service and can be used very effectively.
How do you overcome Failure?
It is possible to create an incredible product using the most advanced technology available.
This is not the best thing. This was exactly what I did a few years ago when I was able to assemble an incredible team to work on cutting-edge technology in the AI sector.
We were so focused on the product we missed the market.
This is something you can’t do because each product is constantly outdated.
I learned that I didn’t think I knew what my client wanted.
Only the client knows what he wants, so I included him from the beginning.
Otherwise, you will have created an unusable product.
Can you share a business idea?
Because I am passionate about health, I would love to start a company that allows you to use your genetic test with a blood mixture with a measurement device as people with diabetes use.
This device can be attached to your skin using a tiny needle to check your vitals in real-time such as glucose levels.
You can use the app’s AR capabilities to scan your body and identify your body composition.
The app also tracks changes based upon your Diet and Activities, based on vital data from your Apple Watch, Oura Ring, and so forth.
A monthly mail-in blood test would be the best.
This would provide you with a complete picture of your health and help to recommend your supplementation strategy.
Blockchain technology allows all data to be shared among participants to identify patterns that can help improve the algorithm.
I’m your first customer.
What’s your recent best buy?
It was Black Friday, and I could buy the ouraring.com Discount.
This is one of the most advanced pieces of tech that I have ever seen.
This device allows you to track everything from your sleep, temperature, oxygen, and heartbeat while not affecting your daily life.
It has been a great help to me in optimizing myself, which makes me a better entrepreneur.
What are your favorite Softwares or Apps?
Since its inception many years ago, the service I have used most is loom.com.
It allows you to record your screen and includes you in a circle that you can move around.
It is an excellent tool for onboarding and training people at various events and companies.
It’s so easy but so powerful that it augments your abilities.
It is priceless to communicate things in a way that goes beyond the email or screenshot.
You will be glad you did.
Which book would you recommend?
Never Split The Difference by Christian Voss.
Mastering the art and science of negotiation is a significant problem in the business world and everyday life.
A mentor gave me this book, and I was impressed by his ability to manage people so that everyone felt empowered, not defeated.
He once said that there was no magic behind it, and you can learn it.
And he gave me the book. The author clearly states that “it starts with a no.”
This book is one of those books that gives you immediate results. It’s also very engaging to read.
What’s your favorite quote?
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Mahatma Gand
TL;DR by Kristian Kabashi
- Hard times create hard people, hard people create soft times, soft times create soft people, soft people create hard time
- Simple to amplify
- Take a stone and place it in your shoes when you feel most comfortable.
- Work is for bots, life is for humans
