‘Every entrepreneur is a marathon athlete that runs many races’ – Smart Studios CEO Johan Zammit

Smart Studios Founder and CEO Johan Zammit on Friday drew comparisons between an athlete’s journey and an entrepreneur’s work towards success, citing the various challenges they encounter.

“Every startup founder, and every entrepreneur, is a marathon athlete that runs many races,” he said, before going on to list seven “races” that they have to take on.

Firstly, they need to “find an idea with a market gap” that they can tackle and develop further. This has to be then followed up by proper validation that it is in fact a good idea to pursue.

Afterwards, a Proof of Concept (POC) has to be built, together with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of what that founder or entrepreneur intends to sell to their clients. This enables them to get a first look into how the product is received by customers, solving any issues along the way.

Mr Zammit explained how once that is done, entrepreneurs need to shift their focus towards getting the first sale over the line, and then to “cross the chasm and get to product-market fit”. Product-market fit denotes a scenario where a company’s target customers are successfully buying, using, and telling other potential clients about the product.

This is then followed by the company choosing to scale up further. This is combined with how entrepreneurs need to “keep learning” and “keep innovating”, even as they gain more market share.

“Every athlete, every founder, every entrepreneur needs to be physically and mentally prepared to overcome these races and all the challenges they bring with them,” he said.

Additionally, Mr Zammit remarked that it is “essential” for founders and entrepreneurs to not only think of their business, but also to take care of themselves. “You need to be fit and sharp to run your business,” he continued.

“In the last month I did not post here on LinkedIn. I used that time to take more care of myself. Now I feel recharged and ready to start sharing my thoughts again,” he concluded.

Led by his passion for people, technology and innovation, Mr Zammit founded Smart Studios in 2017. The company, which he is also CEO of, enables leading brands and emerging startups to “plan and execute world-class AI and digitalisation solutions”.

Mr Zammit is also a Board Member and Chair of various startup and innovation organisations. He holds a Master of Business Administration in E-Business and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, both from University of Malta.