In this episode of Transformational Thinkers, Sara Sheehan welcomes Alykhan Jetha (AJ), the CEO of Marketcircle and Daylite, to the show. Daylite is a software that works in the Apple ecosystem, a productivity CRM that Alykhan is expanding to include time tracking and invoicing for a holistic package. He talks with Sara about how he funded Marketcircle, his company’s growth trajectory, and his thoughts on the necessity of adapting to growth and change.
Alykhan and Sara discuss why focusing on the employees and staff who are innovative and open to change is so important for company growth. Adaptability and malleability are important assets to cultivate. Alykhan shares insights from times when conventional leadership wisdom was at odds with his own insight as CEO, and how he followed his instincts for the benefit of the company. His experiences as a leader display versatile thinking and careful consideration of his team.
Clarifying the why of what he’s doing is a key step for Alykhan in making sense of fast-moving business scenarios. Sara learns how he forms a strategic roadmap for his executives and staff, the way leaders need to think ahead to understand transformation, and how he assesses future mindsets like AI in relation to his company. Alykhan is clear about his personal beliefs and habits, the ones that ground him in his organizational style, and he explains how he guides his staff and himself away from burnout with support and clear communication.
About Alykhan Jetha:
Alykhan Jetha (AJ) is an entrepreneur, bootstrapper, underdog, and President & CEO of Marketcircle, the company behind Daylite, an award-winning Mac CRM empowering small business owners, entrepreneurs & bootstrapping builders across the globe.
Alykhan was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (called Zaire back then) – and his family was expelled for being of East Indian descent. They left their home and spent time in Brussels before coming to Canada with nothing but the clothing on their backs.
Alykhan studied computer hardware in college and found a love for programming. He founded Marketcircle, a software company developing award-winning business apps for the Mac, iPhone & iPad, after thousands of hours working late into the night. He built the original company as a dotcom, but by the time he had drawn the attention of Silicon Valley’s biggest venture capital firms, the dotcom bubble had burst. He pivoted – and eventually became the SaaS product they are today.
He is humbled to have been featured in the Financial Post, Globe & Mail, Yahoo! Finance, and numerous Mac-industry media outlets. He is passionate about lean entrepreneurship and process-driven startup growth. For Alykhan, the “9 to 5” is an artificial construct.
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Contact Sara Sheehan | Sara Sheehan Consulting:
Contact Alykhan Jetha:
- Website: daylite.app
- LinkedIn: AlykhanJetha
- Instagram: @marketcircle
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