How setbacks create momentum w/ Robert Reffkin, Compass founder and CEO
Masters of Scale
WaitWhat
4.6 • 4.4K Ratings
🗓️ 14 September 2021
⏱️ 36 minutes
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Summary
As dangerous as obstacles and setbacks may appear, they can also present opportunities. Robert Reffkin, founder and CEO of the real estate platform, Compass, knows this well. He’s a perfect example of how to use challenges to generate a fresh burst of energy. Reffkin explains how he’s been able to reassess situations in the wake of setbacks, plan his next move, and successfully execute pivots. The trick isn't necessarily to avoid obstacles at all cost, but rather, quickly identify them as resources you can harness. “You can't do great things in the world if you don't have that entrepreneurial, ‘I can do it’ energy,” Reffkin says. “And how do you get that energy? You dream a big dream.” With Dr. Shini Somara, renowned mechanical engineer and science broadcaster.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's Bob Safian. You've been hearing me as the host of rapid response in this feed for a few years now, |
| 0:07.8 | with short newsy interviews alongside the deeper dives of Masters of Scale. Well, I'm excited to share that rapid response is expanding into its own feed. |
| 0:17.0 | We'll be putting out shows twice a week, focusing on the urgent issues that business leaders are dealing with in real time. |
| 0:24.7 | So search for rapid response in your podcast player and subscribe to make sure you get all our episodes. |
| 0:31.2 | I'll see you on the other side. It felt like one of the hardest things |
| 0:36.2 | if not the hardest moment that I had. All my dreams were wrapped up in what I had thought at that time was enough to support my family forever. |
| 0:47.0 | And I lost it all and actually owed the bank's money. |
| 0:56.7 | And I was shaking. |
| 0:59.3 | Like I was at McKinsey shaking. |
| 1:01.0 | I was never shaken before. That's Robert Revkin, founder and |
| 1:04.9 | CEO of Real Estate Platform, Compass. He's recalling when he went all in on |
| 1:10.1 | tech stocks and lost. |
| 1:12.6 | I borrowed against the money I had, which was around $100,000 I believe, |
| 1:21.6 | and I invested it in the top five highest performing tech stocks |
| 1:26.6 | from the prior year. That was my plan and I just went all in. |
| 1:34.2 | It turned the $100,000 to around a million dollars. |
| 1:38.4 | This was just weeks before the very height of the dot-com bubble, which means |
| 1:50.2 | there was only one way this could end for Robert. |
| 1:53.0 | A few months later, it went to negative zero, |
| 1:58.0 | and so I actually owed the bank's money. |
| 2:00.0 | I call my mom and she takes me to a psychotherapist to talk about it that day. |
| 2:08.0 | But the next morning I was fine and the reason I was fine was I started dreaming again |
... |
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