Serial entrepreneur uncovers secret to his own success

Nicolaj Broby Petersen has had more start-up successes than most founders can fathom. His successes are largely the result of his perpetual curiosity, dedication to discovery and compulsion to keep building (and maybe a bit of ‘right place, right time’). But these same attributes that define him as a classic entrepreneur also have a downside, something that took Nicolaj years to realize.

His first move into the start-up world was with the company Dirtybit. It was around the time that Apple´s App Store had just launched, and Nicolaj saw an opportunity. He and two classmates had the foresight to see a future in which people would engage with each other through live mobile gaming. 

A leader isn’t necessarily a born role model

By 2013, this idea had blossomed into a 10-person business. Nicolaj had become a business leader, something which he now realizes he was entirely unprepared to be. 

“I think I learned that leaders were role models a bit too late. I had the tendency to sometimes work around the clock, becoming completely consumed by a challenge or task, and not focusing on creating a motivating environment for others,” says Nicolaj. 

In 2014, Nicolaj felt a shift and realized that it was time to build something new. He decided to experience the epicenter of the start-up world and a haven for all like-minded serial entrepreneurs: Silicon Valley. 

Back to old habits

In Silicon Valley Nicolaj and his co-founders began building new technology, a marketing tool for mobile games, and in the first six months of doing so, some of his bad habits started to re-emerge. The long, intense hours, lack of sleep and complete void of anything but work in his life took Nicolaj right to the wall. 

“I had to take some time off. It was a stressful time, with so many different expectations on us. We weren’t students anymore, we needed to earn a living, and I felt the pressure,” confesses Nicolaj.

This new company was called Megacool and over the next few years it grew into a success. But by 2017, Nicolaj felt Norway calling him home, and so he opened Megacool’s new office in Oslo. He knew he needed a change of pace and a change of lifestyle, and with a recommendation from university mentor, he found himself a coach. 

A victim of early success

“Early success had a bad influence on me,” says Nicolaj. “It made me expect that success would always happen that quickly. But you try to set a higher goal every time and achieve even more, and you discover that it’s hard to always top that last thing no matter how hard you work.” 

Nicolaj still felt that he was too stressed at work despite the relative success of the company. He was still struggling with unnaturally high expectations for himself. And he had started to realize how his stress levels, obsessive behavior and mood were affecting the people around him. This wasn’t the type of leader that he wanted to be. 

Becoming a role model

“Jon Erik has been my coach for a while now, and we’ve talked about many different things. I have learned about ways to better manage my time and to understand how my energy levels worked. What was key for me was learning how I could improve day-to-day work by focusing on my energy levels rather than simply clocking hours,” says Nicolaj. 

One important lesson that Nicolaj learned through coaching was about disconnection. When he wasn’t working, he needed to be able to disconnect from that work. Disconnecting takes time though, and in that transition from work to not working, you’re not relaxing. Nicolaj had to spend time practicing faster disconnection. He needed to put down the phone, close the laptop and get active doing something else. 

“This is working for me, and it is one of the most valuable lessons I learned through the coaching sessions. I needed to set a better example for other employees, and I think I’m able to do that now,” says Nicolaj.

At the end of 2018, Nicolaj made the decision to step out of Megacool and take a break. He wanted to take some time for himself, to restore his energy and focus on his own personal development. 

Nicolaj is spending 2019 as a freelance advisor to other fledgling founders, helping others to tackle some of the same challenges he has faced time and again. Then he plans to travel. And then, he foresees that he will once again have new energy to start a company again. 

“It’s time for me to find a new problem to solve, and I once again have the motivation for that. This time around, I am fully aware that my success and impact isn’t measured by the clock, and that the outcome matters more than how long you sit in the office” said Nicolaj. “And even more importantly, thanks to coaching, I know that I am now better equipped to manage myself and serve as a role model for other people.”

IMAGE: Nicolaj and the Dirtybit team