The Future of War: Challenges and Readiness

"Naivety is a wonderful benefit in entrepreneurship... Had I known how hard this is, I would never have tried."

• Embrace not knowing all the challenges.
• Let boldness drive innovation.
• Accept that some obstacles are surmountable only by trying.

"I just like all this 'work smart, not hard' stuff... You need to do both, clearly. You're always outcompeted by someone who works smart and hard."

• Balance strategic thinking with diligent execution.
• Reject false dichotomies between working smart and hard.
• Embrace a strong work ethic for success.

"Performance management is exhausting. You have to have difficult conversations with people... But if you want to counteract that, you have to make performance management one of the main things you do."

• Address performance issues promptly.
• Regularly calibrate performance expectations.
• Hard conversations maintain team quality.

"What's missing is... ambition specifically on the side of a founder, ambition combined with aggressiveness... That lack of ambition holds almost everyone back."

• Challenge the status quo and aim higher.
• Encourage founders to pursue larger visions.
• Aggressiveness can drive growth and competitiveness.

"We can think about hardware software as well... We spend a lot of time building infrastructure... that technology is also applicable to hardware."

• Leverage software expertise to simplify hardware development.
• Use simulation and testing to iterate quickly.
• Adapt to supply chain and manufacturing challenges.

"We, as the founders, felt very early on that speed was one of the most important things... and we embraced it from the beginning."

• Prioritize rapid execution to stay ahead.
• Accept short-term inefficiencies for long-term gains.
• Speed can create strategic advantages.

"I would say Helsing is a company that you can only co-found. You need to have multiple founders... because you have each other to rely on."

• Co-founders offer mutual support and diverse perspectives.
• Shared leadership helps navigate difficulties.
• Collaboration enhances decision-making.

"He asked, like, I would like to lead your Series A, how much money do you need? And I said, ideally €100 million. And he gave us the money..."

• Build strong relationships with investors early.
• Large capital injections can enable fast scaling.
• Clear vision can attract substantial funding.

"We recognized that growth wasn't as strong as we wanted it to, and we took a big risk and pivoted the company to doing games ourselves... That worked out very well."

• Be willing to pivot when growth stalls.
• Take calculated risks to find your market.
• Bold moves can lead to breakthrough success.

"When we started Helsing, we made a commitment from the beginning that we would focus on hiring and really getting the really exceptional talent from the very beginning... It transformed the company."

• Exceptional hires outperform multiple good hires.
• Prioritize talent density to maintain speed and efficiency.
• Make performance management a priority to sustain high standards.