I lost my company, my family and myself: a successful entrepreneur's transformation
No Bullsh!t, February 17, 2025, 28 min, 728 views. The guest is Dima Kim, entrepreneur and sales expert who has worked with several of the largest technology and consumer companies, previously an advisor to around fifteen startups.
| Published | |
|---|---|
| Length | 28 min |
| Views on YouTube | 728 |
| Language of the episode | Russian |
| Where to watch and listen | YouTube, Spotify, Telegram |
Date, length and view count according to data from the episode page on YouTube, as of the page update date shown in the footer.
In short
The conversation with Sergey Kuznetsov is not about sales but about personal transformation: selling a failed startup, a second divorce and the year of recovery that followed. Dima describes how after the divorce he began rethinking his life, became interested in practices of self-knowledge including a hard ten-day silent retreat with no contact at all, and reconciled with his father after seven years of silence. The central theme of the episode is the difference between belief and attachment: attachment creates illusion and stops you closing a project that is not working in time.
Key ideas
- Attachment creates illusion, belief does not: it matters to separate belief in a project or a partner from egoistic attachment that stops you seeing things as they are.
- Honesty with yourself is the main tool of decision making: before believing a partner's criticism of the product, check whether you are in an illusion of your own.
- The role of a partner who challenges the idea and leans on statistics is critical: honest, grounded challenge from the team is what helps you stop in time.
- The year of transformation began with a divorce, the sale of a failed startup and a second separation: he describes it as the hardest and the most valuable year.
- A ten-day silent retreat with no contact is a hard practice of self-knowledge: in his words, everything suppressed comes to the surface there.
- Love for a partner is secondary to love for yourself: the more deeply a person accepts themselves, the more they are able to give.
The full transcript
The episode is recorded in Russian, and the full transcript of the conversation is on the Russian page of this episode. English and Spanish subtitles for the strongest episodes are rolling out on YouTube in waves.
Open the transcript