Many good posts...
I see and agree to four basics:
- passion for what you do
- taking the right risks
- giving up control and accepting the simple fact that others are better at some things than yourself
- and also very importantly: having the right idea at the right time; there always is some luck involved
Running a big company is not for everybody, as MaDalton said: taking responsibility for so many families can be very demanding; it is however an awesome feeling to succeed and feel the love from all those people coming back to you for what you helped them achieve together.
And, let's not forget enough toilets! ;)
Paul, in case you still do not know, as far as i remember, minte founded ARS. Very good business skills. Pushed that system big very fast! (although I gotta be honest, would love to know how big it really was in its prime, shoot me an email minte if you are willing to share.. Just curious
)