You Don't Need an MBA — You Need What Your Culture Already Taught You

Culture. Discomfort. Resilience. These are worth more than any degree. Joe Hyrkin, former CEO of Issuu and Silicon Valley veteran, didn't build his business skills in a boardroom or classroom. They were earned on the streets and trains of China. In this episode, he shares what nearly a decade in China taught him about negotiation, resilience, and reading any room you walk into. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Introduction 01:45 - Cross-cultural childhood 03:41 - What led him to China 07:44 - Navigating a new culture 12:09 - Learning how to negotiate 16:33 - “I was not gonna be Chinese” 21:46 - Traveling vs. discovering 26:23 - From Hong Kong to Silicon Valley 30:01 - Building video before YouTube 34:00 - Resilience as a business skill 37:42 - Early days of social media 40:24 - How AI is history repeating itself 41:32 - The CEO years 45:29 - Why some businesses survived COVID 51:38 - 3 principles for entrepreneurial success 🔗 CONNECT WITH JOE HYRKIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joehyrkin/ ABOUT CULTURS: Reaching millions annually, CULTURS champions unique cultural identity, transforming culturally fluid populations (multiethnic and/or geographically mobile people like Third Culture Kids) from being invisible outliers to originals. This includes people of culture in the rapidly growing DNA testing-fueled Not Parent Expected (NPE) community. Our world-class, veteran team of researchers and professionals spans five continents. Get social with us: https://www.youtube.com/@CultursPodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/Cultursmag/https://www.facebook.com/cultursmaghttps://www.pinterest.com/cultursmag/ Join the CULTURS community: https://shop.cultursmag.com/products/culturs-membership   Original Music by Tommy McMillion, McMillion Entertainment Makeup by Sedrique Olsen Styling by Sonja Henderson