Different people have different ideas about what it takes to build a successful business. Some believe having good ideas are essential, while others emphasize the importance of skills or catering to a contemporary demand. While hard work, talent, and the drive are all critical characteristics of a good entrepreneur, there’s another important aspect of doing business that often gets overlooked: Experience. And this is what has kept CEO Emre Can Ayaydin soaring high.
Emre Can Ayaydin who is now head and CEO of family based company Goldi Group (Switzerland) oversees the strategic direction of the company together with his management team who combines industry experience and visionary thinking. “I started at a very young age, 14 to be exact. Even though I was in high school, my mom said that I should already enter the family business because you can never start early enough!,” He said. While most teens spend their youth honing work skills in entry-level jobs, whether that’s slinging fast food or working retail, Emre got that spark to succeed at an early age.
Since at least the late eighties, companies have prioritized business experience over education. The billionaire Richard Branson once explained the importance of business in a beautiful metaphor—entrepreneurship is like riding a rollercoaster. It can be messy and chaotic. Having business experience can make the whole ride less chaotic and messy.
Having experience, of course, means you know what you are doing. More often than not in business, this is the difference between success and failure. There’s no shortage of useful advice out there to help even the very young make strong business decisions. There is also no minimum age to become a millionaire, this Emre knows firsthand.
31 year old Emre
Ayaydin originally hails from Turkey, Istanbul but was born and raised in
Switzerland. He studied Media and Communication at the University of Basel
where he was also a scientific assistant and tutor (He was teaching own classes
with up to 25 students).
He then later studied at the world-renowned London School of Economics and
Political Science (LSE), doing his Master of Science, MSc.
Emre Can Ayaydin started with the fashion division while he was still in school, working on the weekends in the company. He first started to sell local jewellery that he bought from a friend and when he realized that it was a success, he then applied his know-how to the big companies such as Dior, Swarovski, Thomas Sabo, DKNY, Armani, Versace, etc. and inquired whether they could sell and distribute their fashion jewellery and their watches.
And from fashion division Emre was switched to the other divisions of the company, always working in the company alongside his studies. While his colleagues were playing soccer outside, he was attending meetings at an early young age. He said he has never regretted it since it was the start of his business life.
Emre has faced really bad times in business but have been able to grow through it. Having business experience means you know your sector intimately. Experienced entrepreneurs understand the changing trends and demands in their respective industries. This knowledge directly leads to developing efficient products that resonate with the target audience.
“Everything has its prime time and nothing lasts permanently” has always been his life motto. He knew that he can’t rest on his laurels and that the fashion market is dynamic and fast-moving. The only constant is change.
“My life goal is to create something meaningful, to leave something behind like a heritage. I strongly believe that effort, diligence and iron will beat talent, so I think if people try their best, they will succeed.” Emre speaks several languages such as German, Turkish, English, French and even Chinese (Mandarin). He was Head of Purchasing and Sales, Head of Operations Marketing & Communication and Head of the Fashion division before he became overall CEO of the company/ holding.