The Psychology of Starting Up, presentation by Xeni Anastasiou, Brain Cube Communications, for Startup Europe Week 2017.

1. The Psychology of Starting Up
Xeni Anastasiou
Brain Cube Communications

2. • I am a new female entrepreneur
• I am 38 years old
• I love life
• I am loyal
• I own a digital marketing consultancy since 2011
• I hold the belief that I can make the world a better place through my
creativity and the principles I practice through my work
• I am committed to my business 100%
• I am ambitious
Who is Xeni today?

3. • I live with discipline not with boundaries
• I am a giver
• I have an analytical mind
• I love completely
• Some people find me to be a pleasure to work with
• Others find me to be challenging, difficult to work with, unrealistic
and a stressful personality
• Others don’t align with my belief system at all
Who is Xeni today?

4. • My business partner
• My start-up family
• One female lawyer
• One female personal assistant
• One male auditor
• One male CEO of an investment firm
• One male manager of an insurance company
• One male high-school friend who is also an entrepreneur
• One male university student studying multimedia
Who is my business ecosystem today?

5. What do they have in
common with me?

6. They share the same
beliefs but with different
perspectives

7. • My business partner
• My start-up family
• My traditional family
• My mother
• My father
• and my two brothers
Who is my business ecosystem today?

8. What do they have in
common with me?

9. We Love each other
We Care for each other
We Support each other

10. • My business partner
• My start-up family
• My traditional family
• My clients
Who is my business ecosystem today?

11. What do they have in
common with me?

12. The belief that we can
create something unique
together

13. • My business partner
• My start-up family
• My traditional family
• My clients
• My employees
Who is my business ecosystem today?

14. What do they have in
common with me?

15. They are creative,
ambitious, givers in life,
loyal

16. • My business partner
• My start-up family
• My traditional family
• My clients
• My employees
• My collaborators
Who is my business ecosystem today?

17. What do they have in
common with me?

18. They are creative,
ambitious, disciplined, we
trust each other

19. • My business partner
• My start-up family
• My traditional family
• My clients
• My employees
• My collaborators
• Those who provide me with services: My bank, my lawyer, my
auditor, government etc.
Who is my business ecosystem today?

20. What do they have in
common with me?

21. We help each other to
survive and grow in the
business ecosystem

22. • My Self
• My Belief
• My Idea
Who was my business ecosystem in 2011?

23. What should I have been
thinking at this point?
Ask Yourself these 5
Questions once a month

24. What are you thinking?
The Psychology of Innovation

25. • I have a unique idea and I believe in it 100%
• It is time for a new chapter in my life and I am ready for it
• I wish more control over my financial destiny
• I wish a lifestyle business where I am responsible to nobody but
myself
• I wish to finally have a boss I truly understand: the person I see
every day in the mirror fits that description better
• There is great value to the community at large if my idea gets
implemented
• And there is one critical question someone should ask you every
month: are you making money?

26. Are you making money?
The Psychology of Implementation

27. • This is the question that differentiates between your new business
from a hobby that excites your or relaxes you
• If you say you are in business, then you’ve got to focus on making
money
• Our clients are used to doing business over coffee tables in offices.
The physical distance between the buyer side of the coffee table and
the seller’s side can be measured in centimetres
• But the psychological distance between buyer and seller is
measured in miles
• You need a drastic change in perspective to bridge the psychological
distance and close deals.

28. So, what does change of perspective
actually mean?

29. • You are not simply changing job titles. You are changing perspective. If you
do not find this process scary, it means you do not fully appreciate what you
are about to do
• Having a paid mentor will help you focus since it is the mentor’s job to
ensure your success. Executives in transition can provide excellent advice.
Invest in them
• Expect to pay them a fee since you are in business to make money. This
conveys you are prepared to take your advisors seriously. Improve their fee
as you make more money
• The important thing is to select people with similar beliefs but different
perspectives from yours. Select people who you can trust to be honest with
you in all the challenges you will face. And avoid bringing in people whose
main value is that they "might" open doors for you

30. What got you here won’t get you there

31. • Learned habits of success got you far in your career
• Those same habits of success might become future barriers for you
• You are on the seller's side of the coffee table now, your perspective
is not the same
• If you think learning is hard, compare it to the pain of unlearning your
habits

32. So, will my idea succeed?

33. Go through this checklist consistently

34.  How much time are you spending on new business development?
 How much time do you spend reading about or watching great sales
professionals? You will probably notice that they display an abiding
interest in others’ issues and needs supported by perseverance,
money motivation, ability to prospect, and close deals.
 Have you learned to start listening to the unsolved problems of
those with the authority to write cheques to you?

35.  Does the market like your idea?
 If it does, will the market stop liking your idea before you've
recouped your investment?
 Are the costs of an innovation eating too much of your profit?
Are you making money??

36. Thank you!!
How to find me:
Xeni Anastasiou
Managing Director
Brain Cube Communications
LinkedIn: cy.linkedin.com/in/xenianastasiou
Telephone: +357 22 200 999
Facebook: @BrainCubeCommunications