Helping Ivy League-educated, overachievers find meaning and clarity in their career | Speaker, Clarity Coach, Entrepreneur

Huw coaches founders and their leadership teams to create clarity, attain alignment, and unleash their potential. He has worked with CEOs of VC and PE backed software and technology companies on both growth trajectories and supported them through turnaround or transition.

Huw is a 3-time founder, investor, and speaker turned executive coach. His corporate career centered around his work at Goldman Sachs, Rackspace, and Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund with $160bn under management. While at Bridgewater Associates he was a Senior Management Associate responsible for Portfolio Analytics. In 2016 he acquired and later sold Jungle Disk, a cybersecurity company previously owned by Rackspace. He co-founded CyberFortress, a VC-backed insurtech startup in 2018 (where he also became a Talentism client!). He also co-founded Porthcawl Holdings, a value-driven technology holding company, investing in startups and businesses in the SaaS and bitcoin space.

Huw holds an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Ford Scholar and Baker Scholar, and holds undergraduate and masters degrees in mathematics from Oxford University,

Huw is a proud Welshman who lives with his wife and young son in San Antonio, Texas. He is a board member of the local Entrepreneurs Organization responsible for the Accelerator program, helping budding entrepreneurs scale their businesses to 7-figures. He is also Vice President of Programming for the Harvard Business School Club of San Antonio. His compulsions include identifying gifts in adversity, creating inspiring visions, radical self-discipline, and running 100 mile races in the mountains.

Huw Edwards

There are two versions of people as they become more successful:

The version that: 
- Struggle to say no to opportunities they don’t really want
- Lose themselves to external validations and expectations
- Feel a constant desire to get as far away from everything
- No longer feel at home with their success

Or the version that:
- Turn down good opportunities to protect space for great ones
- Stay rooted in what actually matters to them
- Make decisions that get people uncomfortable, and feel completely at home in them
- Feels completely at peace with their success

If you don’t love your Mondays as much as Saturdays, you’re probably no longer aligned with who you are, what you want, and where you want to be.

3x Founder, Harvard MBA, ex-Bridgewater Associates, Goldman Sachs | Executive Coach | Helping ambitious founders/CEOs unleash their potential and purpose

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10 years sober. No notes. 

PS Happy St David’s Day. 

#NoRegrets #BestDecisionEver

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Read the newsletter here: http://newsletter.h3.xyz/

It takes guts to care.

It freaking hurts when things don’t work.

People who do extraordinary things fear this hurt too.

But they care deeply enough to risk disappointment over and over again if they have to.

Hard things aren’t hard because they’re hard. 

They’re hard because you don’t trust yourself.

The difficulty is rarely even in the situation.

It’s more in the state we walk into it with. 

Trust your training.

Trust your experience.

Trust your abilities.

Trust yourself a little more today, and much more tomorrow. 

A simple art of making hard things easier.

3 resources to help you say no more.

1. TED Talk: The Art of Saying No by Kenny Nguyen
https://lnkd.in/gvjGfrjF

2. Book: The Power of Saying No by Dr. Vanessa Patrick
https://lnkd.in/gd3vMPPz

3. Podcast: How to Say No – We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle
https://lnkd.in/g7GGrYZs

Every yes is a step away from freedom.

Make it worth the while.

Would you choose your life again?

The responsibilities, pressure, decisions, mistakes, and wins.

All of it.

Yes?

It’s great that you never let go of what it is you really want, even as you grow into greater success.

No?

You may have lost your power of autonomy.

And your success doesn't entirely feel like yours anymore.

In today’s issue, I explored the thin line between “I have to” and “I choose to”.

Quite a good read that uncovers how to sustain the love for your craft yesterday, today, tomorrow, and ever.

A life you don’t grow to hate.

Read the newsletter here 👇

There’s something elite performers tend to experience as they become more successful. At the beginning, everything is a choice. Then the path, risks, 

The power of autonomy

Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter to General Meade that could have changed the course of the Civil War.

He never sent it.

And that decision, to sit in the silence instead of reacting, was one of his greatest acts of leadership.

The most expensive decisions I've seen elite performers make were in half a second before they said yes or no.

And some regret a bunch of them.

Because they didn't stop long enough to hear themselves really choose.

Over the weekend, 1,190 readers learned 4 key habits for making the most profitable and aligned decisions, even under pressure.

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments ↓

My patience has been tested.

I’ve been misunderstood.

My grit, gut, and fortitude have been tested.

But this post is about feeling misunderstood sometimes.

I’ve realized it’s actually a luxury for people not to get you.

What if it simply means you're thinking at a higher level?

Think about it.

How do you explain to someone who shares no connection with the internal source that pulls you to do what you do, to understand why it makes sense, no matter how crazy it sounds?

How many can you convince?

Imagine the struggle, energy, time, and even resources it can take from you.

All for what?

I explored ways to make peace with being misunderstood for a happier life in my last newsletter.

Over the weekend, 1,191 readers received this.

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments ↓

What are you becoming through the suffering?

Two things happen when you set a goal.

You nail it or miss it.

If you win it, you savor the excitement.

And if you miss, you're not self-sabotaging.

You know you still got paid with more discipline, courage, self-trust, and a lot more from the experience.

The journey and what you've become so far will fuel you to try again.

So no matter how hard it is, you'll find your way back up.

If you feel empty when you hit a goal or linger in the weight of missing it, your goal was probably very ambitious.

But it lacked a personal meaning to draw happiness or strength for what’s to come. 

Over the weekend, 1,283 readers learned 4 great steps to filter ambitious goals for a happier experience.

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments ↓

Life wires us to explore...to find out.

To be more, do more, chase more, win more, learn more, and keep evolving.

But life is not what you're really exploring.

It's you.

Some people get stuck exploring what works.

It's not their fault.

They just:

- Lack patience and self-trust
- Don't trust their conviction to act
- Pay attention to what everyone else is saying
- Hold onto things that made them successful

Exploring you demands:

- Patience to say no to good opportunities, and yes to long-term value
- You sit tight and trust your conviction
- Pay deaf ears to what the hell people have to say
- A f*ck-fear mindset to reinvent yourself

Don't be afraid to explore yourself. 

There's so much more you're yet to find out about you.

P.S: My view...

Give people ownership.

Let people still see themselves in what they do before, during, and after they work with you.

Let them bring themselves to the performance.

Your structure should be flexible enough to let them keep the joy of being their authentic self.

There's a thin line between discipline and squashing the flame that makes people feel great.

The autonomy to choose is key to sustaining high performance.

Over the weekend, I shared practices to avoid losing yourself to external pressure as you achieve greater success.

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments ↓

Have a good read.

Every day, you're making dozens of decisions.

How many times have you experienced carrying a quiet tension between what you decided and what you actually meant?

This goes beyond saying yes or no to people or opportunities.

It’s also about what you say to people.

How fast you react to something only to regret it later.

We’ve all got something that helps us make the most aligned and profitable decisions.

And it’s just mostly never put to use.

The silence between decisions.

I explored this silence as an ally to make better decisions for a happier life.

You can read it here 👇

Every day, you’re making dozens of decisions. And in almost every single one, there’s a moment between the question and the answer. It could be a spli

Open article: The silence between decisions… by Huw Edwards • 2 min read

Being ambitious is great.

But be honest…

Do your current goals excite you?

Or are they just a logical move?

Most people burn out from chasing goals that slowly disconnect them from themselves.

Your goals can't just be ambitious.

Make them personal.

It's more thrilling.

I explored a different way to think about ambition in today's issue.

A good read for people who care about high performance.

Read it here 👇

You know how planning and working on a goal takes your focus, energy, and more. It's more like you're choosing how you spend your time. Most people qu

You set the goal, then it shapes you...

It’s actually cool to be misunderstood.

But wait.

It feels cool if you truly, completely believe in what you’re doing.

That way, external understanding becomes irrelevant.

You’re still open to healthy feedback.

But you’re not losing your mind because people don’t get what you’re on about.

I explored the luxury of being misunderstood in today's issue.

You can read it here 👇

There are times when you’ve felt misunderstood. One of the toughest things about this feeling is how much energy we spend trying to close the gap betw

Open article: The luxury of being misunderstood by Huw Edwards • 2 min read

Carlos Alcaraz was playing the French Open final against Jannik Sinner.

The match wasn't going well.

He'd already lost two of the first three sets, and now Sinner was one game away from winning it all.

Sinner was up 5–3, 40–0. That's three championship points. Three chances to close the door.

It already looked like a write-off.

But Alcaraz was focused on the next point.

He saved one point, then another, then another.

From there, he fought through a tiebreak to take the fourth set. Suddenly it was 2–2.

Then, in the fifth and deciding set, after 5 hours and 29 minutes, Alcaraz won the French Open in another tiebreaker.

And he did it all because somewhere inside, he refused to concede.

 He focused on the points he could still win, not the ones he lost.

 Indeed, it’s never really over until you say so.

Archer

GM - International Strategy & BD

CatalyzU

Investor

Stay Unique

Sherpa Ventures

We're startup operators in Africa, backing startup founders in Africa. We'd love to hear about how you're about to transform industries and lives in Africa! We currently exclusively invest at the pre-seed stage in companies with primary markets in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.

Partner

Uber

GM, Head of California and Western US - Rides/Mobility

Wheels

Managing the shared dockless, long-term rentals and university businesses in Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle.

General Manager, West Region

Aerobotics

Oversaw GTM Strategy, Geographic Expansion, Sales and Drone Operations.

General Manager, North America

Relocated to HQ in San Francisco to build a new car leasing startup within Uber - Xchange Leasing.

Strategy and Planning at Xchange Leasing, an Uber company

Served as the GM of Uber Kenya. Management of P&L, trip/revenue growth, operations, marketing, policy, communications, driver & rider support, and hired & led a stellar team. Led Product localization initiatives (e.g. cash as payment method), several BD deals, and novel Safety-related initiatives.

General Manager

Built and executed launch operations plans in Nigeria & Kenya, Uber's first markets in sub-Saharan Africa (excl SA).

Pricing Strategy, Driver & Rider Growth Strategy, P&L ownership, Policy & Communications, Team Recruitment & Building, and setting up and scaling Process.

The International Launchers, the warriors, the front line of Uber's operational muscle. I still get a lump in my throat when I think of who we all are and what we did. The Launcher has the responsibility of creating something where there was previously nothing.

International Launcher

Shaya Technologies

Solving the rhino poaching problem in game parks through using drones as surveillance & deterrent tools. Launched and scaled operations in the start-up phase working alongside the CEO. Launches in SA, Kenya, Ghana & Swaziland.

Operations Manager

Ericsson

The core business was to engage in major outsourcing deals/operational mergers/JV's with mobile telecom operators in sub-Saharan Africa. We took control of operations with the aim of reducing costs through restructuring. Deals in cities including Nairobi, Lagos, Dar es Salaam, Conakry, Accra, Dakar, Gaborone, Harare, Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Dubai.

Corporate Development Associate

Corporate Development Analyst

Building at Watu | ex Head of California Rides @Uber (Built Uber across sub-Saharan Africa) | Partner @Sherpa Ventures

South African. Experienced startup General Manager, Market Launcher, Operator, and Pre-Seed fund Venture Partner. I’ve seen and done it firsthand in some of the world's toughest ease-of-doing-business markets such as Nigeria and Kenya.

Before Archer, I led Uber's California and Western US rides business. Previous to that I was the GM, West Coast at Wheels (micro-mobility), and GM of the US business for Aerobotics (a series B funded B2B Agriculture-Tech startup).

Before that, I was first on the ground and built two of the largest three markets in sub-Saharan Africa for Uber. I worked with exceptional people and delivered economic opportunity to thousands.

In my spare time, I invest in early-stage startups (Partner at Sherpa Africa Ventures, first angel into CatalyzU & StayUnique), and advise (Smile Identity). I’ve been asked to participate in many panel discussions and speaker slots at conferences such as SDL Miami, MEST Africa Summit, and Amplify Africa.

Specialties: Expansion Strategy, Launch Management, Marketplace Operations, General Management,  P&L Management, Partnership Development, Beating Competitors, People Management, Recruiting, Seed Stage Investing.

Contact: alastair@sherpa.africa

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