Q&A with Sean Tyson, Forty Under 40 Winner 2020; Co-founder and CEO, Quietly Media Inc., Age 38
Who or what is responsible for your work ethic?
My parents.
What is your guilty pleasure?
European football. I’m a Barca fan and try to watch highlights on the weekends.
What is the best book you would recommend?
The book I would to business people is The 3G Way: Dream, People, and Culture. The best book I’ve read is The Conversations by Michael Ondaatje. It’s a set of discussions between him and Walter Murch. I read it during a formative time of my life and it had a profound impact on me.
Now that you’re entering your 40s, what goals have you set for yourself?
1. Apply Oil of Olay rigorously.
2. Maintain a healthy level of mischief.
3. Hire people smarter than me.
Choose one of these five childhood career dreams: Rock star, star athlete, prime minister, astronaut, detective.
I want to say astronaut because I’m absolutely fascinated by space, but we need politics to mature and policy to catch up, so I’d probably go with prime minister.
Name your happiest place.
Amsterdam.
What was your toughest business or professional decision?
Letting someone go is always tough.
Advice you would give your 20-year-old self?
Young people tend to overestimate what can be done in one year, and underestimate what can be done in two.
What is your best habit?
I read The Economist and Bloomberg ferociously. I also drink good coffee.
Tell us one improbable fact about yourself.
I’ve played lacrosse and music on fairly big stages.
Best piece of advice ever received?
Forgiveness is easier to get than permission.
What career highlight are you most proud of?
Starting quietly. It’s taken us into some incredible arenas, and it feels like we’re only just getting started.
