What do you do today?
I’m managing a portfolio of soon-to-be 100+ startups, some of which are more successful, some less, and plenty of flat-out failures.
I’m usually helping startups with motivation, product-market-fit, sales, presenting, and fundraising. And now, I’m stepping up as a mentor in Cocoon to pay forward the very same experience I had as one of the first participants in the Cocoon program.I prefer to work with founders interested in entrepreneurship as self-development.
How did you get there?
I like to be around people who have a vision and mission for life. Working for a big corporation in Germany, I felt that the vision was diluted down the hierarchy line, and decision evolved around monetary values. So I decided to create something on my own and surround myself with people I like to be with.
Why are you doing what you are doing?
A common thread I see in startups struggling to make their plans into reality is putting the blame on external factors, which is the same as not taking responsibility for everything that happens within the company. In other words, they are taking a victim role in the situation and life in general. It’s very common to attribute your successes to skills, but your failures to randomness. I know because I’ve been there myself.
Where are you going? What is your vision?
My vision is to take full responsibility for my own life and help others do the same.In Cocoon I’m learning how to figure out myself better than it would be possible alone. Working with mentors from the Cocoon, I have understood how to look beyond the face value of problems, relationships, and business challenges. I’ve seen how everything happening inside my company can be brought back to how I act out on my beliefs and perceptions.
Testimonials
Ville Simola
CEO of Maria 01 (at the time of mentoring)
Aleksander is an experienced mentor who has an exceptional skill to pick up the main points very fast in a mentoring discussion. As a person he is empathetic but at the same time able to challenge you whenever needed. He is also very open and able to support the mentee with examples from his own life journey.
maria01.io
Michał Dziergwa
Co-founder of EMYS
Aleksander's approach is perfect for everyone who is looking at the world in a technical way. He's great at describing complex issues in a logical and understandable manner. While not always easy to hear, his advice is always extremely helpful and accurate.
emys.co
Henn Runnel
CEO of Voog
After Leverage, I'm not confused anymore, what I want in my private life. I feel more grounded and centered from day to day. I have less concern about my fears. I learned abut my negative core beliefs and how they make me behave in situations -- for the first time in my life I've changed my approach to such situations.
Voog
Zigmunds Vīķis
CEO of Protectum
I respect the honest and direct feedback I received from Alexander. He had experienced several serious tumbles as an entrepreneur and startupper and his confession story in TEDx, made me see similar challenges I experience as an entrepreneur.
protectum.lv
Riin Lisett Rei
Communications Manager of .Contriber
Aleksander was my first mentor in the startup world. He has the patience to let a person grow on his/her own pace and he sees when a person needs support, advice, or a little push. He is fun to be around and at the same time is not afraid to have serious conversations.
contriber.com