251: How an Employee Strived for Ownership in his $20MM Tech Company… Lubo Smid of STRV

Subscribe on AppleSubscribe on AndroidLeave a ReviewGoogle PodcastsShare Listen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe via RSSAndroidSpotifyPlayer Embed
SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

Background on Lubo Smid of STRV:

Lubo Smid is the Co-Founder and CEO of STRV. Lubo is a tech entrepreneur with a passion for cutting-edge technology and an adventurous lifestyle. He has co-founded STRV, a design and engineering company, that built products for prominent startups like Tinder, The Athletic or Citizen and well-established brands like Microsoft or Barry’s.

Most of Lubo’s time is spent incubating new products under the STRV Labs brand. Lubo is a tech builder, which is very much reflected in his attitude and curiosity to constantly push for something new. Lubo splits his time between Los Angeles and Prague. He actively produces podcasts, articles, and posts on social media to share insights from his journey. When he is not behind his laptop, you will likely find him out in the wild cycling, skiing, or doing some crazy adventure.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

  • [1:29] Lubo Smid, 35 years old, Co-Founder and CEO of STRV, which is an engineering and design team located in Los Angeles.
  • [2:06] STRV is focused on building great tech products and software and they have grown to about 200 people and $20 million in revenue.
  • [3:30] Lubo explains why their company is called STRV.
  • [5:20] The company started in 2004 and Lubo joined them in 2012.
  • [6:30] At the beginning of STRV, there was no concrete plan on the future of the company.
  • [8:09] This interview is perfect for people who are working for a company and want to be a co-founder or get an equity stake.
  • [14:00] The first 12 years of his life, Lubo was living in a small village in Czech Republic.
  • [16:47] During college, Lubo had the opportunity to study in the UK and fully learn the English language.
  • [19:35] After studying for 1 year in the UK, Lubo went to Norwich University in Vermont, which is a military college.
  • [22:24] Lubo shares his experience when he was studying in a military university in the US.
  • [24:34] When he finished studying at Norwich University, Lubo decided to go on a road trip to the West Coast.
  • [27:06] Lubo talks about being a freelancer and how he started in this line of work.
  • [29:07] Being a freelancer, he got connected with the 2 Co-Founders of STRV, who were looking for someone to join their team.
  • [32:07] Being at the right place, at the right time, with the right team contributed immensely to the early growth of STRV.
  • [34:28] Focusing on the US market, Lubo and his team decided to change the company name to STRV. Lubo talks more about the beginning of STRV and their early growth.
  • [36:57] When they entered the US market, they approached startups from the Y Combinator.
  • [38:56] Getting talented and qualified people from the Czech Rep and other parts of the world was a big advantage for the company.
  • [41:09] The competition in the mobile app space is extremely fierce, according to Lubo.
  • [43:30] Throughout the history of STRV, Lubo was able to successfully handle and adapt to the various roles he took on within the company.
  • [45:42] Lubo talks about how he became a Co-Owner of STRV.
  • [48:07] For those who dream about becoming a Co-Owner of the company they are working for, Lubo as some words of advice.
  • [51:00] In 2017, they had their biggest missed opportunity in the blockchain space.
  • [56:46] Through the years, Lubo has been traveling between the Czech Republic and the US every couple of months. There were years that he did 18 round trips, which was harsh, and he doesn’t recommend it to anyone.
  • [58:02] STRV does business with startups and Fortune 500 companies.
  • [1:00:03] Last words of advice from Lubo. Austin also recommends checking out Episode 121, which reemphasizes the importance of being positive.

Lubo Smid Interview is Sponsored By:

  • [15:02] Jon Ostenson, Founder of FranBridge Consulting and Top 1% US Franchise Consultant is here to help you explore the world of non-food franchising opportunities today. Jon and his team are part of the largest brokerage in the US and have vetted the market thoroughly. FranBridge is hands down the premier source of the best opportunities in the non-food franchising world. You can hear more of Jon’s story and how he started FranBridge Consulting on Episode 250 of our podcast. Sign up for a free consultation call with Jon today at millionaire-interviews.com/franbridgeconsulting and receive a FREE copy of his new book Non-Food Franchising.
  • [33:08] Zipfox.com makes it easy for US businesses to partner with factories in Mexico. You can find everything there – clothes, packaging, beauty products, building supplies, and a lot more, with new products being added every single day. All of the factories in Zipfox are verified with no shady middlemen that you can find on other manufacturer websites. If you want to ditch the trade war tariffs, pay 75% lower cost, and get your deliveries in 5 to 10 days, not weeks, try Zipfox.com. To learn more, just visit: millionaire-interviews.com/zipfox
  • [52:45] Alex in UK gets a lot of value from being a Patreon member. He also added that being a member is an eye-opener for him. Join and be a Patreon member today, sign up at: millionaire-interviews.com/patreon
  • [53:12] Andrew from Michigan says that Millionaire-Interviews is his favorite podcast, and he gets an insane amount of value from it. He also likes the idea that he is only paying $12 per month for being a part of this awesome community. Sign up for our Patreon membership by going to: millionaire-interviews.com/patreon

The Fabulous 4 Questions:

  1. 📖📚 Favorite Books? Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
  2. 🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Bulletproof InstaMix
  3. 🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Superhuman
  4. 💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Doing great things with care is extremely hard to scale. Hopefully, culture helps a lot with that

Key Point from Our Episode with Lubo Smid:

  • “Things are not always that straightforward when it comes to entrepreneurship and there is a lot of curve balls. And everything that is being thrown at you and you have to somehow figure out a way to mitigate that. It’s not as straightforward as we hear many many times.”

Resources Mentioned:

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST
Want More? Join Our Membership on Patreon!
Become a patron at Patreon!
Tweet
Pin
Share
Share