When I was working on O’so snacks graphic design around 2017-2019, Ottavio was the CFO/COO of that company. We never really met - only communicated over email and on one video call. After he left the company, I noticed on LinkedIn that he has been working as a CFO for several startups and has several businesses as well. I was curious that how he got that time, and what made him want to invest in those business ideas. And I’m glad he agreed to interview, because I found out how interesting he is as a person!

A lil background of Ottavio:

How Ottavio evaluates if he wants to pursue a business idea

One of the businesses he started, Hao Table, was because his Chinese wife and him couldn’t find a good quality wok. His wife’s mom has a whole closet of woks she hated and called them “wibbly” (wobbly in Chinese accent.) He started to do some research and talk to the manufacturers in China, with his wife’s help. His initial investment was only about $5000 - for him that was the amount of money he would feel fine if the business didn’t go anywhere. Because he really likes cooking, ended up having lots of nice (and expensive) woks, and learning a lot! For that, that’s worth it!

He tends to do everything himself when he starts a business. By doing that, he brings down the costs, minimize the risks, and also learns a lot. We had a conversation about the pros and cons of having investors. While working as a CFO for several startups that needs to report to investors often, he has not had any investors in his own businesses (yet). One of the reason is he enjoys the autonomy of the business and flexibility. On the flip side, he’s worried that he doesn’t go all in and can’t see the full potential of the business.

When I asked what it has been the challenge for him so far… it’s the doubt in his head that if he not trying hard enough…

It’s very interesting to know that he had a business that didn’t work. In his early 20s, he started a grilled cheese business for 9 months… he realized it was not a good idea since cheese was actually not cheap…
If you’re going to start a business and not sure what to do financially, he has cohort at Lindo periodically helping newbies to get started at the beginning. He personally almost paid the lawyer service $10,000 the first time he started his business! This business is obviously from his personal pain… Go check out what his offers on his site!

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