Ryan Westwood, CEO of Simplus, recently talked with Dave Elkington, veteran entrepreneur of InsideSales.com, about lessons learned from his early startup days and how those lessons have impacted Elkington’s current management style. We summarize some of the key points below, or you can read the complete interview here!

1. Develop a long-term relationship with the vendor decision maker. 

“Some of the best relationships I’ve had are with the CEOs of my vendors,” said Elkington.

2. Create unity, and select the right employees.

When things were looking grim in the early days of InsideSales.com, the incredible people Elkington had on his team united.
“Our biggest customer prepaid because they liked what we did for them so much,” said Elkington.

3. Develop resilience. 

“Sometimes it benefits you when you’ve hit rock bottom and you’re ready to start again,” said Gordon Tredgold, founder and CEO, Leadership Principles.

4. Sharpen the saw.

“If you recruit a great leadership team and have confidence in their ability to execute, you can back away, sharpen the saw, and see the bigger picture,” said Elkington.

Keep reading more from Ryan Westwood’s blog on Forbes to stay updated on entrepreneurship, corporate culture, and startups!