The Achieve Beyond! community salutes Amit Patel Founder and Managing Director of Mythos Group – in a post-Global Entrepreneurship Week post.
Name:
Amit Patel
Title:
Founder and Managing Director
Company Name:
Mythos Group
Brief Company Description:
Headquartered in the Bay Area, Mythos Group is a boutique management consulting firm specializing in Strategy, Digital, HR and Organizational Transformations as well as Leadership and Executive Coaching and Talent Management. From Fortune 100 to mid-sized companies and start-ups, Mythos Group partners with clients across all industries to build and lead strategic global transformations that result in cost savings, enhanced organizational efficiency and increased productivity and profitability
Website Address:
How many entrepreneurial ventures have you had?
Over the years, I have started 5 total ventures.
How long have you been an entrepreneur?
I have been a serial entrepreneur since 2013.
How did you fund your first (or only) venture?
Although it was difficult in the beginning, I am proud to say that all of my companies have always been self-funded. On multiple occasions, I have partnered with other associates and their investors on joint ventures, and I have also had the pleasure of taking multiple advisory board positions for start-up endeavors.
What do you like most about being an entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur gives you the ultimate flexibility to craft unique solutions to a wide range of problems. When you’re the captain of your own ship, you have the opportunity to challenge conventional wisdom and go beyond traditional corporate barriers in order to be truly innovative. “Thinking outside the box” has become a much-maligned cliché, but there are many advantages gained when you have the space to deliver solutions that are as unique as each client. When you hear the phrase, “conventional wisdom,” you may think that it’s referring to a way of doing things that is tried and true, but that’s a false assumption. Conventional wisdom deals in generalities and tends to be impractical when dealing with highly individualized scenarios. As the Founder of Mythos Group, I have the ability to take a personalized and collaborative approach with clients in order to go beyond the cookiecutter solutions that are offered from consultants at larger corporate consulting firms.
Based on your experience, what three pieces of advice would you share with aspiring entrepreneurs and start-ups?
1. Practice resilience. All businesses have their peaks and valleys, and it’s important to know that at the beginning of any venture. It’s likely that your business’s trajectory will look more like a roller coaster than a rocket ship. The key to weathering the inevitable ups and downs is to remain resilient and keep an even keel. To do so, clarify and define your purpose and your mission. Oftentimes you will also hear this described as your “why” or your “North Star.” Your company’s highs will bring you feelings of happiness and the lows might bring you feelings of despair. Acknowledge these emotions but wait for them to pass. If you have a clearly defined purpose, you can let your North Star guide your decision-making rather than current circumstances. This will enable you to act objectively in order to ensure that your decisions are proactive, pragmatic and actionable rather than reactive and emotional.
2. Be ready to pivot. We all got a crash course in disruption with the global coronavirus pandemic. Many lessons were learned over those three years, but one of the most useful was the importance of staying nimble in business. The companies that survived and thrived through the pandemic were the organizations that were able to assess the situation and pivot quickly. For the team here at Mythos Group, the initial stay-at-home orders severely limited our ability to network with others and solicit new clients. In order to reach a broad audience, we shifted our attention and focus to content creation. Through writing, we were able to leverage our expertise and experience to create timely and valuable resources that have not only helped us to attract new clients but have also enabled us to maintain visibility and stay competitive.
3. Your network is everything. When it comes to establishing yourself as an entrepreneur, know that networking is not a boon, it’s a lifeline. Success does not happen in a vacuum and behind every self-made success story, there are numerous colleagues, mentors, friends, family and clients that lent their support in some way. Surround yourself with the right people and create meaningful, long-lasting relationships with those people. At Mythos Group, we’re proud that most of our business comes from referrals and repeat clients. We surround ourselves with people who share our same values and vision, and as a result, the alliances we’ve formed tend to be mutually beneficial. It’s easy to feel as if everyone is a competitor when you first start out, but that simply isn’t true. Be open to expanding your network, find like-minded associates and work diligently to maintain those relationships throughout the life of your business and beyond.
Anything else you’d like to share?
There’s a quote that’s widely attributed to Walt Disney that I have used as a sort of mantra in my career. It’s, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Now, that doesn’t mean that the journey will be easy. For most, a life of entrepreneurship is often difficult and fraught with failures and disappointments. However, if you stay determined in the face of doubt, if you remain resilient during times of challenge, and if you maintain a level of fortitude in the face of fear, then yes, you can accomplish anything that you dare to dream.
Email:
mi6@att.net