Humans are not objective, efficient working machines. Even the highest performer faces times when productivity falls. We get too distracted, too confident, too comfortable. We over-commit or under prepare. And as awkward or painful as it may be, we all have times in our lives when we need to have our egos checked. Hopefully, a candid pep talk comes from a friend or family member looking out for you. 

But in Ben Hindman’s case, that wake-up call came from the person you least want to hear it from… his boss.

“I think they were torn whether or not I was the right person for the job. After about two years working there, it became clear that I was not, and that was really hard for me… The people who I worked for and worked with were very clear that I was not performing well.”

Ben is now the co-founder and CEO of an event marketing software company called Splash. But before he became his own boss, he was an employee. And as Ben will share today, sometimes it’s the lessons you learn as an employee that set you up best for success when you become a founder.