In this episode, Jeremie Kubicek returns for his third appearance to talk about his new book The Voice-Driven Leader and what it actually takes to develop people, not just manage them. We get into personality-driven onboarding, how to hire your first few team members, why equity is so often misallocated, and when to prune a business that isn’t working. Jeremie also shares humbling stories from the dot-com era, his favorite interview question, and why Elon Musk is the perfect example of intent plus relentless action.
If you’re an early-stage founder trying to build a real team (not just a product), this one’s for you.
Key Discussion Points:
- Why “hyper-personalized” development beats one-size-fits-all training
- The four stages of development: onboarding, immersion, empowerment, and multiplication
- Speaking your team’s “voice language” so you can actually influence themJeremie's decision filter for saying “yes”
- Why starting is way more mental than most founders expect
- Why he admires Elon Musk’s mix of intent, action, and empowerment
- How to find your early “Persons of Peace” instead of just filling roles
- Jeremie's favorite hiring question: “Who are you?” (being vs doing)
- Using pruning (not sunk costs) as a framework for tough founder decisions
00:00 – Introduction
02:32 – Building a roadmap for developing people by personality type
03:25 – Speaking your team’s language: the five-voices metaphor & café-in-France example
05:03 – Five Voices AI: tone checks, onboarding prompts, and “no excuses” leadership
06:07 – Rapid Fire Q1: Jeremie's decision filter – True North, DNA / skeleton / skin test
08:53 – Rapid Fire Q2: What people misunderstand about starting – belief, mindset & self-doubt
10:31 – Rapid Fire Q3: When Jeremie wanted to give up – pruning portfolio companies
13:01 – How Jeremie thinks about equity: hired guns vs co-founders, earn-ins, sweat equity & phantom stock
18:12 – Rapid Fire Q4: Humbling dot-com failure in African-American haircare & not knowing your customer
20:00 – Apprenticeship, African-American haircare, and why startup fundamentals travel across industries
21:38 – Rapid Fire Q5: Why Elon Musk embodies intent + action and empowered leadership
24:21 – Past vs present vs future: feeling responsible for what you built vs pruning for what’s next
27:40 – Listening like a founder: best-idea-wins, MVP thinking & the pressure of early hires
31:26 – “Persons of Peace,” culture-first hiring, and why your first teammates can’t just want a J-O-B
34:25 – Jeremie's favorite interview question: “Who are you?” (being vs doing)
37:33 – Do founders need leadership coaching? Org clarity, financial plans & Sherpa team leaders
41:22 – Resilience vs sunk cost: using pruning instead of “I have to see this through”
44:45 – Jeremie's next chapter: future of work, AI, forced diversification & entrepreneurship under pressure
46:32 – Wrapping up and where to find Jeremie online
Connect with Jeremie
Website: https://www.jeremiekubicek.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremiekubicek/
Book: The Voice-Driven Leader - https://www.amazon.com/Voice-Driven-Leader-Playbook-Personalized-Development/dp/1394150660
Connect with Brian
👋 It’s your host, Brian!
Come say hi:
Website: https://brianondrako.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianondrako/
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