I work on them! You have to have the courage and go further to achieve make ideas alive.
Matiss Ansviesulis is a Co-founder and the CEO of Creamfinance, providing personal finance products in emerging markets. After completing studies at Lancaster University’s Management School and working as a business analyst for JP Morgan in London, he and Davis Barons joined forces to found Creamfinance in 2012 based on a vision to implement an innovative data-driven consumer finance company.
Matiss Ansviesulis is an individual who is always striving for the best. He is constantly looking for new opportunities to improve himself as well as the surrounding environment; the word describing him best is ‘drive’. Being visionary, persistent and precise, Matiss is responsible for business strategy development and implementation within Creamfinance.
Matiss enjoys quick pace not only in the workplace – he practices fast-pace high adrenaline sports during the weekends.
Where did the idea for Creamfinance come from?
After finishing my degree in Lancaster University’s Management School I started working in JP Morgan, and quickly realized that I don’t enjoy working for somebody else. And working for somebody else in a bank is even worse, so I shared my thoughts with my good friend, now turned business partner Davis. Back then it was very difficult to borrow a small amount of money for a short period of time, so naturally we thought we could improve the service. We joined forces to found Creamfinance in 2012 based on a vision to implement an innovative data-driven consumer finance company.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
In order to be productive I have a morning routine – I wake up and drink a glass of freshly squeezed juice and then go for a 20-minute jog. Unlike other people, I never start my mornings checking email; I rather always try to spend my mornings investing in myself – both psychically and physically. After that, I am refreshed and ready to start my working day, which is never the same, keeping in mind that I travel a lot.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I work on them! You have to have the courage and go further to achieve make ideas alive.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
People sharing experience. Seriously. There are so many exciting, interesting, outspoken people who share their experience completely free of charge, and all you have to do is either open a blog or a YouTube channel and be ready to learn. Following that, I decided to give it a shot myself as well, and create my personal blog ansviesulis.com followed by the YouTube channel, where I share my own business experience, my failures and successes for starting entrepreneurs.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
To focus on the outcome list, not on a to-do-list. Every evening I try to make a short outcome list, which outlines the things I want to achieve in an upcoming working day. Once I come to the office I start with the list and check my email only once the things are done.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
I did lots of things before I started up. I worked as a cashier selling clothes, as a cleaner and as a tree cutter, literally risking my life to cut huge trunks hanging. Every single experience taught me something, especially that every single job is actually needed in society, and that the jobs you do not fully feel like doing teach your patience and persistence. And least it taught me that!
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
I’d probably trust in myself more, that’s always a good think. It takes a lot of courage and risk to start, and you need to fully trust yourself. Or how do the people say… In my first business days you sleep like a baby – waking up and crying all the time. In order to minimize such experiences, I’d trust myself more, and invest in my own self-development to become a better leader.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Invest in your own self-development! I know I’m repeating myself now, but that’s crucial. When I started up, I thought that my business is as great as my personal abilities and capabilities, and I was afraid and unwilling to delegate the tasks. The realization that people are sometimes better and something than you are, and being able to fully give responsibility for that individual with freedom made myself more available to focus on other things, allowing business to become better and more structured.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
There are a couple of them: first, get a good business partner that you can fully trust. Second – hire young, hungry professionals who are experts in their area and are ready to grow with the company. When you are a startup you want to hire people who are flexible and are able and willing to adapt to changes and fast pace. And third, perhaps most important, never stop improving and investing in yourself: be aware of your consciousness and seek for constant improvement both personally and professionally.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Perhaps my biggest mistake was trying to do it all by myself. As a founder I felt I knew everything and I was ready to give it all to grow a company. It went well, but all I did was working 24/7 and I quickly realized I actually am not that good in some certain areas, so I’d rather hire a specialist who is better in that area than I am. I needed to learn to delegate and work with other people without trying to do everything on my own.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Snackbox service! That’s actually what I heard of when I was in UK, and some friends of mine subscribed to a great service which delivers healthy, interesting snacks directly to the office. We don’t have that in Baltics, would be awesome to have something similar.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Cannot really recall, but I think it’d be a nice meal and a good self-development book I recently bought on Amazon.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
Windows XP
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
A recently read Jab Jab Jab by Gary Vaynerchuk – it definitely left an impression and expanded my thinking.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Gary Vaynerchuk: https://www.youtube.com/user/GaryVaynerchuk
Peter Sage: https://www.youtube.com/user/PeterSage007
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Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.