The CEO who turned a major accident into lifelong inspiration
LOCATIONS: London, UK; San Francisco, USA; Barcelona, Spain
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: Spanish, Catalan and English
CURRENT ROLE: CEO, Typeform
PREVIOUS LEADERSHIP ROLES: COO, Social Point; CFO, Yaencontre
BOARDWAVE ROLE: Mentor
When Joaquim Lechà accepted the role of CEO at Typeform in 2018, he found himself reflecting on the responsibilities that lay ahead. “It’s not that I am alone, I have a strong team around me. But the reality is that there are some decisions that only the CEO can make. That’s the ultimate responsibility,” he says. He was on his bicycle at the time because, as Lechà explains, he has always found that exercise brings clarity. “Maybe it’s the fresh air, or your heart beating faster bringing oxygen to the brain, that creates connections and opens ideas. You see things differently,” he says.
As a young man, Lechà was obsessed with sports, often at the expense of his academic studies. But, as a 20-year-old training for Jet-Ski competitions, which he competed in at both the regional and national level in Spain, one moment changed the rest of his life. Lechà’s Jet Ski hit a wall, leaving the bones in his leg so shattered that no two bones could be joined back together. After more than 20 surgeries and three months spent recovering in hospital, Lechà knew that he needed to find a new path. “I had to completely change how I was thinking about my life and my vision,” he says.
“I truly started studying and applying myself and, as a result, I finished school with good results, which gave me opportunities,” he says. “I’ve asked myself if I had a time machine would I go back and change what happened? The answer is no – I love my life, my family, and my job.”
He says that the experience not only changed the course of his life but also taught him lessons that he applies to his role as CEO to this day. “Mental toughness and adaptability, finding the opportunities in hard times or adversity and moving forward.”
Risk management – applicable not just in business – is something that he carefully considers. For instance, Lechà mountain bikes but says he applies a “higher margin of safety”.
Lastly, the accident taught him the importance of dedication, boldness, and pushing boundaries. These were all attributes he had to draw on while recovering from his accident. While in hospital, the doctors considered amputating Lechà’s leg but, given his young age, were keen to save it. They cautioned that it would take a lot of hard work to get back to anything resembling a normal life.
There are some decisions that only the CEO can make. That’s the ultimate responsibility.
The hard graft of an entrepreneur
Determination and a strong work ethic were instilled in Lechà from a young age. “My father never told me to work hard. It was not something he said, but it was something he did.” His parents grew up in a small town in the shadow of the Spanish Civil War and under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. “They never had the chance to even finish their high school education, they were working from the age of 14.”
Lechà’s parents, he says, were determined to build something for their children. The businesses they founded included a shop that supplied much-needed white goods to locals, a service company that provided installation and maintenance, and a video club, renting out VHS tapes long before the days of streaming services.
As a child, Lechà would overhear snippets of entrepreneurial conversations between his parents. “When I think of who I am today, I always look back to that moment when it was all about the joy of creating something – something meaningful, something that gave purpose,” he says. “My father loved his work. He was always unsettled on Sunday afternoons because he just wanted it to be Monday morning.”
Working hard has been key to Lechà’s success in business, first at Daimler Benz (now known as the Mercedes-Benz Group), which he joined straight after graduating from a Barcelona business school with a combined Bachelor’s and MBA degree, and later as a consultant working for big-name clients. “These projects were very important, very ambitious, and they had to be accomplished in three or five months. There were a number of all-nighters,” he says. “I honestly believe that if you really want to achieve something great, you have to put in the hours. You really have to sweat your shirt, as my father used to say.”
It was when Lechà was running a one-man consultancy firm that he learned something important about self-sufficiency: “If I could think of ideas, pitch and win projects – and get paid at the end of it – all at a young age – I’ll never again be scared of losing a job,” he says. “This gave me the freedom to speak my mind and say what I truly believed.”
This realisation led to a huge change in his business outlook. When he was working for start-ups, he was able to provide something invaluable: Lechà would always tell founders the truth, even if it was something they didn’t want to hear. He would say: “It may be something you don’t want to be told but I can tell you because I believe it is the truth. I have to authentically tell you what I think.”
Creating a world of opportunity
Now living in the US, Lechà’s work ethic still runs strong. His working day begins at 5am with a coffee and time to think. Even while working long hours, he prioritises exercise as well as connecting with his family over dinner every day. “Without your mental and physical health, being a good leader is much harder – maybe impossible.”
As CEO of a software company that is, in his words, “one of the few examples of a European company that has grown to a certain scale,” he feels he has a lot to offer the Boardwave community. “Can we inspire them? Can we support them and get to a stage where they are global companies with a global footprint?”
Part of the reason he wants to help grow the European tech industry is his teenage daughter. “When I moved to Barcelona as a young man, it was difficult to find good job opportunities. I thought, if there continue to be few opportunities, my future children will have to leave the city. This sparked my passion for creating a stronger ecosystem, where tech can create interesting, well-paid jobs for the younger generation,” Lechà says. “Something I truly believe in is creating opportunities for people to have better lives.”
Tips From The Top
What are your tips for a successful business?
1. A phrase that has stuck with me, coming from Charlie Munger and Warren Buffet, is “build something for your customer”.
2. Solving problems for customers cannot be done alone. Build and develop the best team possible.
3. In order to take action and empower your team, you need to be clear. To be clear, you need to be honest. Be honest with yourself, authentic, and fearless.
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
“Learn as much as you can. Work as hard as you can. And build something that, in the end, provides value and gives you meaning.” This comes from observing many people along the way, but especially my parents.
Can you tell us something surprising about yourself?
Not many people know that I am a petrolhead. I love anything with an engine that lets me go fast, jump high, and seek adrenaline.
If you hadn’t become an CEO, what career would you have pursued?
The easy answer is I’d be doing the closest thing to what I’m doing now, because I love my job. But, if not, maybe I would have been a builder. I’m not a “do-it-yourself guy” right now, but in another day and age, maybe I would have been a carpenter or tried to construct something in the physical world.
Is there a piece of tech, other than your phone, that you could you not live without?
There are many incredible tools that help us be effective at work – from Slack to Zoom – but, in order to be truly effective, I also need my bicycle.
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