Leaning back in my chair and pensively staring into the digital whiteness of the Google Doc (about to type this article), I’m thinking how many times I actually pronounced (in my head or out loud), “If only someone had told me this before,” as a founding CEO.
The answer “countless” would be a sheer exaggeration, yet there was quite a number.
Two decades ago, when my friend and I struggled to acquire a ticket to the Dave Matthews Band concert, the idea smacked me in the brain. What if I could help people easily get tickets to live events (sports, concerts, theatrical performances—you name it)? And so, in 2005, I decided to start a business with only $100 in my pocket.
Today, while flipping through the past 20 years of Event Tickets Center (ETC), the “pages” in my work (and life!) book, I’ve bookmarked a few crucial things during this journey.
So, here’s what the business rollercoaster taught me (sometimes harsh truths) besides holding on tight, of course. Go through the top seven lessons from being an entrepreneur and CEO for 20 years, from leadership to business growth.
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CEO Lesson #1. Build not a Company but a Family United Around Shared Values
One of my first lessons in entrepreneurship was this. The key secret to successful business-building lies in people who share your passion and become your family.
Here’s how you can build one with these leadership lessons from my 20 years as a CEO:
- Hire the right people—recruit for values, not just skills: Never fall for resumes with unbelievable skill sets, but no culture fit. (Note: 70% of job applicants might be lying.)
- Onboard new hires as if it were a “Welcome home” party.
- Give your workers room to stretch their mental muscles and work them out through on-the-job training (because families grow together).
- Encourage open conversations and develop a feedback-sharing culture: Don’t be judgmental, saying, “I’m the adult in this room; I know what is best for you!”
- Create traditions and rituals (also, don’t shy away from internal jokes).
- Live your values together.
Twenty years ago, I kickstarted the company with only one employee on board. By now, ETC has grown to 30+ members. We call it the ETC family. And besides our work schedules, we also sync our values as a team through the ETC Cares program.
CEO Lesson #2. Go Mobile-First and Mobile-Fast
Isn’t your business mobile yet? Better plunge into mCommerce and accelerate your mobile pages as soon as possible.
I wish someone had told me this earlier in business.
A fast and convenient mobile experience is the new default customer experience. Not to mention Google’s mobile-first algorithm. Moreover, Google announced they will no longer index websites that aren’t accessible on mobile devices (starting July 5, 2024).
It was in 2016 that ETC accelerated the mobile site speed. Back then, our team turned to AMP for accelerated mobile pages and saw the following results:
- 20% increase in ticket sales
- 13% longer time on site
- 10% lower bounce rate
However, it wasn’t until 2023 that we released a mobile application, the Event Tickets Center app. Still, it was a huge leap forward (I can’t deny it).
At this point, I’d like to draw your attention to the words of Stanislav Khilobochenko, VP of Customer Services at MacKeeper, who highlights the importance of customer segmentation by technographics (tech tools and devices). “Segment mobile app users by device and OS and offer versions for both Android and iOS users. Besides, it’s also crucial to tackle privacy and security concerns, which are super-high among both groups these days, and protect your app from cyber-vulnerabilities.”
I’m nodding in total agreement here (and we actually made the ETC app intuitive and safe for Apple and Android users).
Speaking about innovative leaps overall.
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CEO Lesson #3. Don’t Hesitate to Innovate and Pioneer
Don’t listen to “couch critics” or “armchair experts.” They aren’t in the business arena but have front-row seats and megaphones to point out what you’re doing wrong. For instance, the loudest ones might tell you: “You shouldn’t play with that AI ball—it’s dangerous!”
Also, it’s better not to wait till the last minute to see your competitors outrunning you because they are equipped with more advanced tools. They can easily do that thanks to higher automation, transformation speed, and business efficiency, which are immanent in modern, groundbreaking technologies.
These are:
- GenAI (generative AI)
- AR/VR (augmented + virtual reality)
- Metaverse
- Cryptocurrency and NFT (non-fungible token)
- IoT (Internet of Things)
- And many others on the verge of birth (think of brain-computer interfaces like Neuralink or Synchron)
It’s another significant lesson I learned from being a CEO for 20 years and pushing business development → be a forerunner.
ETC became one of the earliest beta testers for GenAI in Performance Max pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns with Google Ads. As a result, our team saw a 5x higher ad production speed, saving pretty much time on advertising.
Pro tip: If you’re on a shoestring budget (who isn’t!), consider investing in white-label innovative tech. Pre-developed technology is much cheaper. Plus, it’s highly customizable (you can brand it as you wish).
For example:
Let’s say you want to transform customer service without breaking the bank. This can be a white-label help desk, AI chatbot, or voice assistant.
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CEO Lesson #4. Market Your Way to Success Wisely
Let’s not live in La-La Land—your budget isn’t elastic, and you can’t reach every promotion corner simultaneously as if doing the splits. Even with the CMO’s team by your side, remember that most CEOs and CMOs aren’t on the same page in marketing prioritization.
You should agree on three or five key promotional strategies, ideally meeting your business needs for a start:
Best for → establishing authority over time and search engine optimization (SEO)
- PPC advertising
Best for → speedy conversions (be careful not to overspend on it!)
Best for → passive sales
Best for → targeting social media users and raising brand awareness on socials
Best for → creative and bold brands eager to surprise and impress
Best for → day-to-day communication and relationship-building
For example:
If you prefer playing a longer game, your go-to solutions would be email and content marketing via a company’s blog. Need faster results? Then, try paid ads and influencer collaborations.
Pro tip: Affiliate partnerships are the easiest way to break into sales with practically zero marketing expenses. (I wish we had started an affiliate program earlier at ETC.)
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CEO Lesson #5. Tap into SEO from Day One
Strikingly, CEOs often overlook that neon sign, SEO (and local SEO in particular!), to light up their companies online in front of search engines.
So, here’s another valuable lesson every CEO must know: take care of on- and off-the-page optimization (or delegate this task to your CMO, just like the majority of CEOs do).
On-Page SEO → Focus on Keywords.
Find proper keywords and insert them into your service pages, product descriptions, meta titles/descriptions, and even image alt texts. But overstuff it—and no one would be happy to read your keyword-crammed web page. Mind: Google also frowns upon keyword overstaffing.
Pro tip: Nourish your SEO blog content with “evergreen” keywords like “the best ways to” or “how to.” They will draw the audience to your website eternally. Yet, remember about seasonality, too.
For example:
This year, our content marketing team released a blog post, “How to Get Super Bowl Tickets in 2025.”
Off-Page SEO → Focus on Backlinks.
When it comes to off-page SEO, you can generate word-of-mouth popularity in the world of websites with keyword backlinks. They will get you higher trust from Google, Bing, or other search engines.
Pro tip: Use social channels, mainly Reddit, for SEO off the page. Google has recently confirmed an “expanded partnership with Reddit” and started featuring answers from the platform more often.
CEO Lesson #6. Network and Connect with Industry Leaders
The more you network—the more you learn from others. And here, I’d say, never stop building business connections and learning from visionaries and masters of the craft.
That’s perhaps one of the utmost personal growth lessons for CEOs I’ve picked up during 20 years in the executive position.
Your mind should always be curious, with a big appetite, craving more food for thought. While you’re extracting knowledge from books (as every CEO does, I’m sure), you should also constantly “feed” it with new insights from:
- Niche conferences
- Executive roundtables
- CEO leadership summits
- Trade shows/expos
- Innovation and tech forums
- Industry-specific webinars and podcasts
- Social media groups for CEOs (e.g., The C-Suite Network on LinkedIn or The CEO Movement on Facebook)
For example:
The World Ticket Conference and Coalition for Ticket Fairness in 2024 have been the most recent networking events on my list.
CEO Lesson #7. Push Persistently but Avoid Too Much Pressure (Seek Balance)
We all know the truth, don’t we?
Entrepreneurship is hard work. It’s not a perpetual revenue machine to wind up and observe it generating income.
There’s nothing simple in executive management, either.
However, it shouldn’t be the art of smiling through burnout (it’s real for CEOs: 82% report emotional and physical exhaustion at work). It’s more about taming the chaos and balancing everything, like an acrobat on a tightrope: work, family, and self-care.
My healthy balance formula is “eating” three Ps:
Priorities
(Master time and task prioritization in work management software)
+
People
(Empower and lead your people and care for your family and yourself)
+
Presence
(Be present in each moment)
At the Bottom Line
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