Edd Read is the co-founder of Graze, a snack box subscription business, and Tiney, an edtech and childcare platform.
In this week’s Founder in Five Q&A, Read discusses why founders need to know when to pass on the chief executive torch, the importance of a paper notebook and why few people actually understand the blockchain.
What one thing do you wish you’d done differently when launching your company?
Scaling a startup is a constant learning curve. We hired for a range of strategic roles while we were still in discovery mode, but looking back we weren’t yet in a position to make the most of their talents. It felt like the right thing to do at the time, but I think in the early days you want to stay as nimble as possible and save your firepower for strategic hires until later down the track.
When should a founder CEO pass the baton on to a new chief executive?
Founder CEOs often come from a product or technical background and there comes a point when they might realise their strengths and passion lie in building and innovating rather than managing the full spectrum of the business. That’s when it’s time to pass the baton. This should be more openly discussed in startups – it’s really just about making a good business decision.
In another life you’d be?
I think you would find me backstage in a theatre or music venue in charge of the lighting, sound and special effects.
Do you have a productivity hack?
I keep a paper notebook on me at all times to jot down random thoughts throughout the day. I find writing things down helps my brain process them. Each morning I consolidate notes from previous pages into a fresh daily list, and there’s something deeply satisfying about crossing things off. Every so often, I’ll flip back through the past few weeks to check I haven’t missed anything.
What’s the most misunderstood technology?
Blockchain. People tend to see it in binary terms: either it’s a scam or a world-changing revolution. I don’t think it’s either. It’s a distributed database with some really interesting (but limited) use cases. Less “world-changing” and more “quietly useful in the background.”
Founder in Five – a UKTN Q&A series with the entrepreneurs behind the UK’s innovative tech startups, scaleups and unicorns – is published every Friday.
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