11. Spencer Jentzsch on Leadership

Hacker Paradise CEO Spencer Jentzsch talks about his role running the world’s first international work-travel program for digital nomads. Founded in 2014, HP has taken over 550 people to live, work and play together in 20 countries and has attracted participants from companies like Google, SpaceX and Y Combinator.  On the trips HP provides housing, workspace access and a community of cool people to explore and party with, as well as organizing weekly workshops, talks, skill shares, goal sharing sessions, and networking events to help participants with professional development and goal achievement.  Spencer shares his hiring practices for building the HP team and talks about the crucial importance of emotional IQ. He also talks about how to manage staff across time zones, how to structure a daily routine to optimize productivity, and how to deal with stress. Spencer also opens up about his personal journey of self-discovery through world travel and tells the story of leaving the US for the first time at age 19 on a Mormon Mission to Korea for two years after which Korean language and culture because his passion and the focus of his academic work. Spencer then tells the story of how his Korean language skills led to his role escorting the CEO of Samsung (the most powerful man in South Korea) at the 2010 Olympics, and then hand-writing Samsung’s Christmas cards to top fashion designers like Marc Jacobs. He also talks about his role in co-founding a Tinder Profile Consultancy, and gives specific suggestions for how to immediately optimize your online dating profile.