DANIEL MARCOS, THE CEO WHO OFFERS THE MOST APPLICABLE ONLINE EXECUTIVE TRAINING IN THE MARKET
Changing the scenario for the companies providing jobs and boosting the economy is Daniel Marcos, the Co-founder, and CEO of Growth Institute. By combining the benefits of learning, coaching, and application into a robust learning experience, he gives leaders the surest pathway to evolve their company.
Daniel partnered with Verne Harnish in 2012 to bring executive training to the masses. It was reserved earlier for wealthy companies, but now it is available to all CEOs and their executive teams. In less than a decade, Growth Institute has been recognized four times among the top 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the USA (INC5000). Since its foundation, Growth Institute has helped more than 50,000 leaders from 10,000 companies in 68 countries.
MORE ABOUT THE CEO
Daniel Marcos is the co-founder and CEO of Growth Institute, the leading online executive education company for C-level executives at fast-growing firms. A keynote speaker and a CEO Coach, his mission is to help 1 million entrepreneurs scale their impact and reduce the drama in the process. Daniel is a member of YPO and EO and is a certified coach in the Scaling Up methodology. He is a graduate of EO’s premiere CEO program, the “Birthing of Giants”, and holds a BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering from ITESM (Monterrey Tech) and an MBA from Babson College. Daniel recently was recognized in Expansion Magazine’s ’30 under 30′. Also, he’s the EO podcast host at Maestros de Escalamiento.
In a conversation with the CEO Review Magazine, Daniel throws light on his journey. He talks at length, about his struggles, experiences, challenges, industry, goals, and more. Read below the excerpts from the interview with the CEO to know more about the company;
Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and set up your business?
I was an early entrepreneur, but I have been both in the corporate and the entrepreneurial world. I started at an early age of less than 10. In the year 2000, I built an online trading business that was acquired within six months by what was Argentina’s enormous financial player at the time, Patagon.com. That successful exit led me to several ups and downs as an entrepreneur and CEO. I decided to start Growth Institute when I realized that there was a lot we don’t learn in school. Nobody teaches us how to be a CEO and the challenges every company faces while growing. I wanted to share that knowledge to help companies scale successfully.
What have been some make-or-break moments in your career?
When I became a CEO coach thirteen years ago, I was learning at a fast pace and became vocal about the Scaling Up methodology. During that time, I made close acquaintances with thought leaders who were authors of proven methods for CEOs, including Verne Harnish. They trusted their rich content and reputation to my idea of building the executive learning platform. I realized they had high expectations of me and my plan, it became real so I had to make it happen and put them under the light. That’s how, in 2012, I partnered with Verne Harnish to create Growth Institute and bring online executive training available to everyone.
What goal do you have for the future? What more can you do in your role to help achieve this.
More than a goal, our BHAG, or Big Hairy Audacious Goal, is to scale impact and reduce drama for 10 million leaders by 2040. My role as a key speaker, author, and CEO of Growth Institute, is to inspire leaders to become the best version of themselves.
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I ended up establishing my second startup, which was extremely successful before eventually tanking in the 2008 financial crisis. At the time, I had deep feelings of failure and even depression, and I didn’t realize I was just entering my life-changing journey towards becoming a business coach and turning my entrepreneurial experience into a learning platform, my company, Growth Institute.
Which one thing do you wish you’d done differently/ what style did you adopt?
Back when I was a consultant, It took me a while to see the opportunity of creating a company out of my coaching experience with CEOs. I wish I’d done it earlier, to build an asset that grows with compound interest. Always look at the bigger picture.
How has this industry changed over the years?
EdTech is a fast-changing field. We’ve been evolving along with the industry and anticipating new trends. Our in-house video production and software developers are constantly creating new content and working on a better platform. We’ve been learning from the industry and our market to promote collaborative learning, enhance engagement, set up assessments, and make this online experience part of every company’s strategic plan. The pandemic pushed the evolution of EdTech, and all types of educators and students around the world had to instantly submerge into it. Apart from all the constant changes that bring the digital era, this was a giant leap.
What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization?
The most important decisions I made as a leader were:
- Being positive and healthy in cash flow.
- Being profitable and having no debts.
- Chose to work in a remote office years before the pandemic. We wanted to attract the best people for our team, so we had to do it like this.
How do you encourage creative thinking within your organization?
Allow the team to try and test. That gives us the chance to make some mistakes and learn from them.I use “yes, let’s do it, let’s give it a try” often with my team, so they keep being encouraged to bring new ideas and discover better ways to offer value to our community. Great ideas come in an organization from the many exposures, I’ve had with other mentors and CEOs who became my collaborators in different projects, and from my team.
How do you or other leaders in your organization communicate the core values?
Our Core Values are easy to recognize because our team has been recruited based on their personal values. Our core values are:
- Driven by growth and learning – Inspire yourself and your team. Practice what we preach. Above all, learn every day.
- Speak your mind – Build trust through open and honest communication. Share information and ask a lot of questions.
- It takes a community – Two is better than one. Do collaborative work.
- Honor knowledge – Create value. Respect content. Give recognition and credit where it is due.
- Own the outcome. Get it done. – No excuses, finish what you start, and focus on results. Share the risks and share the wins.
- It’s always the first date – Maintain a memorable reputation
What is the best advice you can give to our readers?
To fully understand our clients’ situations and guide them with education and implementation so they can experience good results while learning and most importantly, achieve the life/work balance they need so much. The majority of scaling a company is all in your mind—you need to have the right mindset in order to grow your business. Be open and learn how to become a good leader, and maintain a high quality of life.
Crucial tips to be a great leader:
- Training is vital
- Know the difference between being an operator and an owner
- Hiring the right people is key
“Build a product that people love. And the more that people love it, the more they will help you to grow. That’s the moment to scale your business.”
