I’m Anthony Ware, Principal at AWare Catalysts, AMA 🧠

@abadesi Great question! OK, so here's how the dots connected... - Janitor for my dad's biz - Carpet cleaner at university - Bartender/Server - Graduated from university with Biochemistry degree - Pharmaceutical Sales Rep - Manager (co-founder-ish) Mortgage Broker Biz - Sales Rep at Cintas (selling first aid, safety, medical to retail, and industrial clients) - Residential Real Estate Salesperson - Bartender/Server - Commercial Real Estate advisor for tech, life science, office, and warehouse clients - Founder of management consulting biz w/ side hustle: Late night cleaner for bar owned by a friend - Co-founder (HR and Strategic Partnerships) of logistics biz - Co-founder, CEO of infosec tech biz - Yoga teacher for adults and kids - Founder, Corporate wellness biz - Krewemaster (Head of Company Culture) - all-natural footwear biz - Head Sales - eco-conscious food biz - Director of Advisory Services - biz focused on supplier diversity for Fortune 1000, government, and universities - Mentor - high-growth tech accelerator - Founder - Company culture advisory biz - Creative Lead - biz focused on high-growth venture funded startup tech biz in Bay Area - Principal and Founder - My current biz AWare Catalysts This over a 20 year span of my life. One of the common threads is that I cared less about the title and what I was able to learn in the position. Don't get me wrong, I do realize that titles are somewhat important when it comes to being paid. One the road to today, the positions that I've held have helped to shorten my learning curve about various industries and the interconnectedness of the economy. On a personal note, some of the positions were part of my personal growth. For example, being a yoga teacher helped me to realize what a long-time mentor told me years earlier...I'm a teacher at my core. Working the eco-conscious biz reinforced that I love working with people directly and that I love the planet we call home. Some of the jobs helped to learn what I don't like to do. These are things that are already on the list for what my Chief Ecologist will manage when I have more revenue. Another major thread is that I'm not afraid to learn something new as long as it's connected to something aligned with what I value and my vision for my life. All of this translates into a good connection with my gut as an entrepreneur. On top of that, there are vary few industries that I don't have at least some basic understanding of how they work. This helps me shorten the barriers in a convo with potential client related to the time spent explaining their industry. Overall, I think I'll always be reinventing myself. Reinventing gets easier because I've done the process so many times. That doesn't mean the work is easier. Last, all of this has helped me to learn how my mind works. It works and sees the work in stories, paintings, and ecosystems. I hope this was helpful 😀

@shoaib_iqbal Thanks for your question Shoaib! AWare Catalysts is the umbrella company for all my projects and business. The current problems are focused on the human part of business (no not HR). Specifically for founders...our mental health is the foundation for every decision yet it's typically ignored until the founder is in hospital, dies by suicide, or something else bad goes on. I help founders create a personalized mental wealth toolkit. After the mental wealth has momentum, we focus on the culture of the business. Every biz has a culture from day one. Sales, operations, and hiring are all impacted by culture. I help refine and define culture. Last, hiring is one of the top challenges and expenses of every startup. Many startups follow the same copy and paste hiring status quo, which wastes time and money (expenses and profitability). Because of the work in other areas, we can move to uncovering the employer value propositions to help hire the right people...right for the new hire and right for the biz. Underlying all of this is ongoing long-term research and publishing of reports to support underestimated founders. In the future, there will be an angel fund under the umbrella.

@theanthonyware Very interesting! I see a lot of value in the founder mental health part as that is something I personally have struggled with and have only recently started to master. Looking forward to what comes next! As Astra!

@ubuntu Thank you for your kind words. Yes, our minds are the only thing that are with us from the time we're born to the time we die.