Blog • The Rebel Entrepreneur Series

ARTICLE 042: In a 2002 study, 180 people underwent three treatment routes for their arthritis. In one group, surgeons removed the patients’

ARTICLE 042: When a belief becomes ingrained in your subconscious it has the same effect as a placebo, and you can then harness its power. It

ARTICLE 041: With feedback, rebel entrepreneurs can remove the friction points and then reassess. This process is known as the “perfection loop”. It’s

ARTICLE 041: In 2008, Marissa Mayer wanted to determine how colour influenced users’ engagement with Google Ads. Mayer performed

ARTICLE 040: In 2007, two broke roommates, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia realised that if they couldn’t raise enough money for rent on their San

ARTICLE 040: A rebel entrepreneur is very aware of the right timing for trends happening in society, and if applicable, launches their product or service

ARTICLE 039: A rebel entrepreneur isn’t afraid. If the promise of reward is not enough to motivate you into taking that plunge, then try changing your

ARTICLE 039: In 2015, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis wanted to determine which is a more effective motivator – the carrot (the

ARTICLE 038: When Bill Gates was just 17 he established his first business with his partners Paul Allen and Paul Gilbert. The company was called

ARTICLE 038: Setbacks are simply a sign that great things are about to happen, so get ready to take off, just position yourself to shoot in the right

ARTICLE 037: In order to protect your business and yourself, negative people should be identified as early as possible. If you share your idea with

ARTICLE 037: Albert Einstein once said “Stay away from negative people, they have a problem for every solution.” He was entirely right. Negative

ARTICLE 036: In 1971, Philip Zimbardo recruited students to take part in a simulated prison in Stanford’s psychology building. Half were assigned

ARTICLE 036: Rebel entrepreneurs don’t judge people based on their role or their title. They don’t see labels. They treat everyone with respect –

ARTICLE 035: Questions are more important than solutions, because as W. Clement Stone explained, they take us out of victim-mode. Writing

ARTICLE 035: What is thinking? The practice of thinking is just asking and answering questions – that’s where our thoughts come from. If you are

ARTICLE 034: Once we stop asking “What’s in it for me?” and change that question to “How can I help?” – we can tap into the part of our psyche that

ARTICLE 034: Whenever we encounter a new person, opportunity or experience or even listen to a story, our brains are wired to ask the question

ARTICLE 033: “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius During his prison

ARTICLE 033: The wisdom of stoicism can be a guiding light through tough times in business. You may encounter problems entirely out of your

ARTICLE 032: The very best ideas are developed carefully, and often, independent of others. In a study conducted at Yale in 1958, 48 students were

ARTICLE 032: Rebel’s employees need to think independently, but brainstorm together. It’s most effective when they know about the session in

ARTICLE 031: A friend of mine found herself at a crossroad in life. She wanted to be an editor, and hoped one day to establish an editing business

ARTICLE 031: Rebel entrepreneurs take intellectual risks, emotional risks, personal risks and social risks. For a rebel entrepreneur, risk-

ARTICLE 030: Delayed gratification doesn’t just make treats taste more delicious, the practice yields better results at every stage of life. Closer to

ARTICLE 030: During the 1960s, Walter Mischel carried out a series of studies on 600 boys and girls between the ages of three and five in what

ARTICLE 029: At one point in my career, it felt like stress was going to defeat me. Deadlines were mounting, I felt physically sick and I hadn’t slept

ARTICLE 029: Stress is good for you. Only if you believe that stress can kill you, it will. However, once I realised that it could work for me rather than

ARTICLE 028: According to Isaac Newton’s first law of motion, an object at rest will remain at rest, while an object in motion will stay in motion,

ARTICLE 028: Whatever you put in now will come back to you in the future. A rebel entrepreneur will sacrifice a few years of partying now for decades

ARTICLE 027: A rebel entrepreneur will make decisions not solely based on their logic but their gut feeling too. They trust their gut. In business, it

ARTICLE 027: The gut is so powerful, many call it ‘the second brain’. In 2011, Dr Premsyl Berick, an associate professor of gastroenterology at

ARTICLE 026: Positive visualisation of a goal has a profound effect on the human body. A ‘goal’ here can also mean any important event, including an

ARTICLE 026: In 1967, Australian psychologist Alan Richardson visited a team of college basketball players. Richardson watched the

ARTICLE 025: When 3D4Medical started off, I was operating entirely on a shoestring. We had just one employee – me – who worked from the attic of my

ARTICLE 025: Innovation without money is possible, in fact, there’s never been a better time to start a business on a budget. Leaving aside the

ARTICLE 024: A friend of mine was the ultimate rebel entrepreneur. On a shoestring he managed to build a multimillion dollar business in just a short

ARTICLE 024: Never sell out. I’ve seen first hand how so many otherwise brilliant entrepreneurs sell majority shares to VCs, or investors, only to

ARTICLE 023: A rebel entrepreneur knows the importance of integrity and will always look for win-win solutions. They value honesty, and put their

ARTICLE 023: In 1961, Stanley Milgram recruited 500 men to take part in what they thought was a memory test. The participants were given the role

ARTICLE 022: After times of war, when a large percentage of the male population is killed, there follows a huge spike in the number of the

ARTICLE 022: The returning soldier effect is just one of the bizarre and unexplainable ways the world works to restore balance. Rebel

ARTICLE 021: When Star Trek first debuted, it gained a cult-following who were charmed by the innovative technology that took centre stage. Many

ARTICLE 021: For a rebel entrepreneur, imagination is the key, a vital source of innovation and, ultimately, proof that even the most outlandish

ARTICLE 020: In 1906, polymath and statistician Sir Francis Galton was visiting a country fair in England when he first observed a strange

ARTICLE 020: Rebel entrepreneurs understand that they need to tap into collective wisdom, and they know how to use it when it comes to

ARTICLE 019: “Your salary is the bribe they give you to forget your dreams.” – Chrisjan Peters As you read this, you might be stuck in an office

ARTICLE 019: Rebel entrepreneurs are able to take that plunge and do it for freedom. They work when they want, where and how they want. They

ARTICLE 018: A rebel entrepreneur understands that in order to make money they have to invest. They don’t let their cash stagnate. Their goal is not

ARTICLE 018: In Latin, the word currency means ‘to flow’. Picture a town where everybody is in debt. Each town-person owes money to someone

ARTICLE 017: When web browsers were launched in the 90’s, sceptics feared that the advancements would result in mass unemployment as the internet

ARTICLE 017: The AI revolution will be no different. AI will see people leave monotonous menial jobs and start working in more creative

ARTICLE 016: Which makes for a better business – selling a product or a service? I happen to have experience in both. I was the founder and CEO of

ARTICLE 016: Each project is completed you must begin again. There are less limitations in the sale of products. Products have the potential to earn

ARTICLE 015: When Formula 1 drivers realise they are heading straight for a wall, their first reaction is not to stop, but to divert their gaze from

ARTICLE 015: A rebel entrepreneur – whether it is in life or business – will always focus on what’s ahead. Once you start orienting yourself in the

ARTICLE 014: When we stand tall, put our hands in the air and take up space, we can assert our dominance. You can learn and master confidence

ARTICLE 014: In 2008, researchers Jessica Tracy and David Matsumoto studied the body language of blind athletes at the 2004 Paralympics against

ARTICLE 013: In 1952, a group of scientists conducted a behavioral study on the monkeys living on the Japanese island of Kōjima. Over

ARTICLE 013: When you are struck with a good idea – whether it’s a new innovation or an idea for a business – remember somewhere in the world,

ARTICLE 002: Koko the gorilla, was just a year old when her instructor taught her American Sign Language. Soon, Koko had a vocabulary of over

ARTICLE 002: A rebel entrepreneur stands by their integrity and tells the truth. Only stupid people lie. They do so because they fear the consequences of

ARTICLE 012: Picture yourself as a sports manager, assembling the best football team that would challenge the league title. Would you take

ARTICLE 012: Diversity in business is essential. Studies show that teams composed of men and women of different races, nationalities, sexual

ARTICLE 011: Rebel entrepreneurs must show investors that they have the tenacity to get through uncertain financial periods. They are patient.

ARTICLE 011: When Colonel Sanders franchised his signature fried chicken recipe, he was in his sixties. After years of selling from his roadside

ARTICLE 010: Rebel entrepreneurs write down the big goal. They ask themselves continuously if what they’re doing now is bringing them closer to that

ARTICLE 010: Michelangelo once said: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and

ARTICLE 003: The average human attention span is short, and, according to a 2015 survey by Microsoft, it’s only getting shorter. In the study

ARTICLE 003: Rebel entrepreneurs craft their product with simplicity in mind, and this makes the act of pitching easier. They develop their product

ARTICLE 008: As a rebel entrepreneur, more often than not, the only direction for you to move in is against the tide of the crowd. Rebel entrepreneurs

ARTICLE 008: When I first told people about my vision for 3D4Medical, they laughed at me. I was a broke outsider who disliked authority and more

ARTICLE 007: Failure, in the past, was seen as grounds for punishment, especially for entrepreneurs. Societies from Ancient Greece and

ARTICLE 007: Failure is crucial to the development of an entrepreneur’s business. It is not an indication of incompetence, but a powerful

ARTICLE 005: Rebel entrepreneurs realize that they thrive in the face of fear and the unknown. It’s only when they take that jump, that they

ARTICLE 005: Reid Hoffman – the founder of LinkedIn – once said: “Starting a company is like jumping off a cliff and trying to assemble a plane

ARTICLE 004: A loveable product can be judged not by what it is, but by what it is not. They lack friction points – or anything that prompts frustration

ARTICLE 004: After years of grafting and sleepless nights, I finally felt ready to launch our product. We were given a great opportunity to launch Complete

ARTICLE 009: Before it was called Instagram, it was called Burbn. With this app, users could share photos, connect with friends, earn points and

ARTICLE 009: When you develop a product or service, endeavour to make it both easy to use and explain. Make it simple. If you are unable to

ARTICLE 006: If we can look at any situation from a larger perspective, and with the understanding that situations are only good or bad if we label

ARTICLE 006: There was once a farmer, whose stallion was his most prized possession. He took excellent care of the animal, until one day, the

ARTICLE 001: I remember the exact moment I made the decision to become an entrepreneur. I was 18, working in the US on a Christmas

ARTICLE 001: A rebel entrepreneur understands their own worth. They take control of their own destiny. If they have to temporarily work for a boss