What a night! From goosebumps to big laughs and deep learnings. There’s something special about listening to someone who hasn’t just built companies, but built wisdom, resilience, and unstoppable positive energy along the way.

Last night at Builders Investor House @ AWS, Eric Carbijn gave us a peek into his journey. Not the shiny LinkedIn version; the real deal. Taking big swings before the market believed, messing things up, building, selling, scaling back, and never losing sight of what matters.

And two lessons from his grandfather really stuck with me:

You can delegate tasks, but never responsibility

We all know the type: blaming the market, bad timing, other people. But in the end, it’s on you. Your calls, your hires, your gut feeling. Eric’s been there, owned the mistakes, learned, and kept moving. No excuses, just action.

You don't learn because someone teaches; you learn because you choose to

Spot on. The best lessons come from unexpected places — competitors, critics, or people who underestimate you. But only if you’re paying attention and open enough to see them.

And what I love most: he still takes time to share his wins with the people who mattered along the way — even if those moments are years behind him.

Hats off to Eric. Thanks for the honesty, the energy, and for reminding us that great leadership is about showing up, owning it, and staying relentlessly forward-facing.