I was rejected at Shark Tank – now I run a $ 2.5 million business | Businessman

Years ago I went to the file Shark tank I thought I had all this. I built the brand and website of electronic trading from scratch, I had plotted, traction and mission. I left without an agreement – and a bruised ego.

But the moment ended with one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Today, how many companies in the furnace included a rapidly growing hiring software business that generates more than 2.5 million annual recurring income. It was used by more than 5,000 small businesses across the country to find and hiring better candidates without the need for full -time recruiters.

Truth? Most of my biggest breakthroughs came from the mistakes I made on the way. Here are five of the most difficult and valuable lessons I learned – and how you can use them to develop their business quickly and smarter.

Related: I started over 300 companies. Here are 4 things I learned about scaling business.

1. Visibility is no matter what no matter

After Shark tank The broadcast, our website crashed. We had thousands of visitors, e -mails and online orders – but at the moment I didn’t have hiring a bench or system.

We were hiding. I had no recruitment pipes, no on -board book and no way to expand our customer support.

Now I hire as my life, it matters – because yes. When I actively hire or not, I keep a common list of a-players I want to work with. We invest in structured Scorecards, always in sources and internal retrrors.

If you wait for you desperately hired, you are too late.

2. A scale without culture is just accelerating towards collapse

At one point I am hired quickly to keep up with the demand. Brawh in people with the right skills, but not the right values. Followed by tension, collapse of communication and toxic subversion, which I did not notice the use of my best team member. It crushed me. Feedback was exactly what I needed: “I lost my purposes in your company.”

Since then, we have built Avahr software, around what I now call “cultural marketing”. It is not just about attracting talent, but about demonstrating the values ​​you live, and filtering those who will not match.

Protect your culture at all costs, involving slowing your growth. Tell not customers if it makes you hire you incorrect people.

Your culture is Eith your greatest benefit or your greatest responsibility. Choose early.

3. “Culture Made” is a lazy filter – define or dig it

I hired people who “felt like us”. They shared hobbies, personalities and work styles. That was for a friendly environment, but we went about an echo chamber.

Now we are looking for “adding culture” – people who share our basic values ​​but call for assumptions. We define these values ​​with accuracy and evaluate candidates against them with structured interviews and mutual reviews.

If you are hiring the intestine, you play gambling. Define what you are worth and measure.

Related: Marketing Strategy “Mad Men” are back and here to stay – here’s what you need to know

4. You can’t delegate hiring the unit you can handle

One of my biggest early mistakes was to hire outsourcing before I had a repeatable system. I gave interviews to managers who had no framework and no clear definition of success.

We paid the price in bad rental, low morals and unnecessary time.

Finally, I built our Entitirire process – Scorecards, Scorecards, Kits and Compensation Frameworks – and only then I delegated it. Today we train every recruiter manager to use this system. It is our operating manual for building high -performance teams.

You can scalance what you have documented. Period.

5. If no one doubts you, you built an incorrect team

For years, I thought Harmony means progress. I sent Myylf with people who agreed with me, or at least did not bet.

But businesses you grow in echoes.

Today I make a place to hire people who with respect to question my decision, ask hard questions and think differently. It’s not always comfortable, but it’s always better.

If you want to build a great company, hire people who make you unpleasant – in the right way.

Your failure can be your best future asset

I didn’t get an agreement Shark tank. But this rejection forced me to reconsider everything: my playground, my location, my process and, most importantly, my leadership. It was an intestinal blow – and exactly what I needed. The humiliating moment did not end my path; It redirects it. Over time, this has led to the creation of a software company that now generates millions of income and helps thousands of small businesses to compete for top talent.

So if you are in Tomit that feels like failure, do not panic – that. Think about it. Kick out what is trying to teach you. Every mistake, incorrect step and the opportunity raised is a raw material for something better – if you are willing to learn from it.

Your failure does not define you, but how you respond to them. These are moments that shape the next version of you – a version that creates something stronger, smart and more resistant.