The Entrepreneur Ethos

Gaby and Mike Grinberg

Jarie Bolander -

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Summary

Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guests today, Gaby Israel Grinberg and Mike Grinberg, founders of Proofpoint Marketing in Minneapolis. They also host a podcast, Mixing Business With Pleasure, where they interview couples -like themselves- that run a business together.

Six years ago, Gaby and Mike had flourishing careers when their infant daughter was born four months premature. Gaby was let go from her job and became a stay-at-home mom to care for their daughter while Mike continued to work and also took on freelance clients. Less than two years later, Mike’s company declared bankruptcy. Gaby wanted to get back to work, and Mike realized he already had a strong foundation with his freelance clients, so they formed Proofpoint Marketing.

From the beginning, Gaby and Mike knew they wanted to offer a different kind of workplace culture. They are fully remote and offer the kind of flexibility often missing in corporate workplaces - something they committed to well before COVID made remote working a norm. When they hired someone they had high hopes for and found out she wasn’t the right fit for the company, they went the extra mile to help her get a job with a company that was a better fit.

Having experienced several layoffs between them, Mike and Gaby point out that working in corporations may seem safer, but that it’s really the ambiguity that people have a hard time with when becoming an entrepreneur or working for a startup - it’s not necessarily any safer. With clear core values and principles in place, it’s clear these two founders offer a different vision for the future of work.

Now let’s get better together.

Actionable Insights

  • “Play the long game,” says Mike. Work for payoffs down the road by building relationships, not the immediate sale.
  • Find your inner kindergartner. If you work on being a good human being, you can likely be a good entrepreneur,too, says Gaby.
  • If you’re starting a business, or already have one, give some thought about what kind of culture you want to create. Don’t just default into what you know. What kind of workplace do you want to foster? How do you want to show up to support your employees and show that they’re valued?

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