For our quest for the business hero, we asked Gábor Nemes his opinion on what a business hero is.
Gabor is a businessman and co-founder and CEO of Good People Everywhere. It is a platform dedicated to reporting good deeds – our own, and other people’s.
We had the opportunity to interview him for the quest for the business hero. We spoke about our three central values, which are ethics, sustainability, and creativity. Gábor shares our views and believes that these are the qualities that a business hero needs to possess.
In the interview, Gabor talked about his journey, how it started and how it’s going, and what he learned in the process. Gabor talks about the importance of having mentors in business and in life, and humbly says that he would like to become a business hero, although that is not the reason he is doing what he’s doing.
1. Please introduce yourself
Hello, I’m Gabor, Co-founder, and CEO of Good People Everywhere, which is a platform where you can share every good deed you have ever done, or somebody else has done for you.
The reason why we have created Good People Everywhere is that we truly believe the world needs positivity, and to demonstrate that there is more that connects us than divides us. This platform provides e>veryone – especially the NGOs – the opportunity to show what they are already doing.
This app aligns very closely with our personal values. In regard to me, I try to live my life by principles (rules), like ‘always give more than expected’. I love the theory of ‘the Interrelated Structure of Reality’ which says we’re all connected, so if anything affects somebody directly – it affects everybody indirectly. We would like to help people to find the best connections in their lives based on their personal values.
2. Let’s start with an easy game of word association. What comes to your mind when I say “business”? And what comes to your mind when I say “hero”?
Business for me is value creation when people are doing something that makes other people’s lives easier. Business is constantly growing and changing, and you have to be committed daily.
When you say hero I see faces: Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs, and Kobe Bryant. People who really believed in something, and made other people’s lives much better.
They are all different, as were their lives, but they are all heroes.
Not all of them had support at the time, but they believed in something, they wanted good for others, they were non-conformists, and they were committed to their goals. And that’s what we want to do also.
3. Now, let’s combine them together…what do you think is a business hero?
As I said earlier, business is value creation for me, and I see all of them as heroes. Especially Steve Jobs, but Kobe Bryant was also an entrepreneur, in my eyes, he was also a business hero.
And of course, Mandela, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King also did put great effort to change things, so they are all real heroes to me.
And also Tony Hsieh, the legendary CEO of Zappos. He was a true hero, too! He revolutionized company culture for the better. He always wanted to make their colleagues and consumers happy (and the world also).
4. Every business person goes through a journey: When did you hear your call and how did your journey start?
Just before my 28th birthday, so 8 years ago. I used to just live for myself, I didn’t have any goals, and I didn’t want to work for others.
However, I was really lucky because of the people around me, because they helped me change, and showed me the importance of trusting others and building strong connections. Since then I’ve read more than 500 books. I’ve changed many things in my life: time(s), work, friends, living environment, a lot of things. I started to work with a business coach, and I joined mastermind groups. I worked in the Middle East, established companies in London, Malta, and Austria, and learned how to reach and join investors in my dream.
None of this would have been possible without the people around me, and that is why we are so passionate about Good People Everywhere. I was lucky because they were there, but some people don’t have that. They don’t know where to look and how to find them, which is why we created a platform for them.
5. Which obstacles did you encounter during your journey?
Of course, we have had many obstacles. I think that is the way of life.
In business, especially with start-ups, funding is always a challenge because you do not (or we do not) make money at the beginning. You have to find people and investors to believe in your goals.
We had difficulties also, but I see them as an opportunity to grow because I believe in the process we learn how to handle things, how to manage our staff and partners, and how to communicate. If we zoom out and try to see the whole world, we are just a tiny part of the universe, as are our problems.
If we see from the perspective of time, we are a lot tinier.
Many people are scared now, they just see the news and the bad things in the world, and they are afraid of change. I love Ryan Holiday’s book: The Obstacle is the Way, and I mean it. I always say I’m very lucky, but the best explanation for luck is when preparation meets opportunity. And I do my best to be prepared and always look forward to opportunities.
6. Did you find a mentor or inspiring leader to help go forward?
Of course, I don’t think it’s possible to create something big and influential without help. I don’t like the word self-made as we mostly use it: I always say: I walk with giants. And I’m lucky enough to have amazing people around me, as partners and as family and friends. So I have mentors, advisors, a business coach, mastermind partners, and business partners who are helping me reach all of my dreams and make this world a much better place.
You know the greatest athletes in history always had and have a business coach (and other people who help them), and business is the same (from this aspect).
7. What important lessons did you learn and what is your contribution towards society?
I live my life as an infinite game (thanks to Simon Sinek’s influential book), and my game (and my dream also) is when I’ll be on my deathbed just be able to tell I leave this world behind as a much much better place than it was when I arrived.
I really want people to understand they don’t have to kill animals, they can believe in non-violence. Because If you can be compassionate with animals, you can be compassionate with humans, too. And your world and the world altogether will be much better.
Also, with Good People Everywhere, we not just want to share good deeds but also want to help people to connect with like-minded people with good intentions, and pure hearts and show them they can trust in each other.
Last but not least we would like to be role models of how any company’s culture should look like. You know when people spend most of their awake time at their workplace, you have to make them happy. And that is what we’re working on.
8. Atlas World is looking for business heroes with an Ethical, Sustainable, and Creative approach: Can you think of someone that embodies these qualities?
I still need to think a bit about it.
9. Do you consider yourself a business hero?
This is not why I do what I do, but honestly, I hope I will be one, someday soon. Thank you.
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