7. Lijo Mathew - Entrepreneur and Military Contractor Piece of Mind - Conversations with Curious Minds with Jad Halaoui

Podcast Intro



Today's guest is Lijo Mathew, the Founder & CEO of Slingshot Holding.

Lijo started off his career in logistics and supply chain at Expeditors for 1 year. In 2004, with very little experience, he stumbled upon becoming a military contractor - a role in which he supplied allied armies in Iraq with anything and everything they needed.

In this conversation, we trace back Lijo's story and how he discovered the opportunity that became his life's work and what it takes to learn and excel in an industry you are an outsider to.

We discuss the 3 things that win wars, the importance of hiring the right talent, and the personal and professional toll of not doing so from the beginning.

We go over the challenges of operating in a very large industry, the mental stain of working in war zones has, and the emotional gardening that was required for Lijo to move through the different chapters of being a CEO.

This episode is an exploration of how far in life wandering can take you, the importance of beings hands-on in the early stages of the business, the loneliness of entrepreneurship and the role people who love you play in keeping true to yourself if you veer off course.

Guest Information

LinkedIn: Lijo Mathew - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lijo-mathew-8a357324/
Slingshot Holding


Show Notes
[03:10] Lijo’s background

[06:40] Discovering he wants to get into Logistics & Supply Chain

[08:10] Moving to Dubai to start something new

[13:05] Stumbling upon the opportunity to become a military contractor

[15:20] Building out the supply chain between the UAE and Iraq

[17:40] Crazy story

[21:05] Lijo’s style of learning the industry as an outsider

[24:50] The 3 things that win wars

[26:50] Delivering and receiving brutal feedback

[29:40] Learning how to hire talent as a CEO

[35:15] The challenges of replacing existing employees with new talent

[37:50] What Lijo looks for in talent

[40:30] The size of the US Military Contracting Market

[44:20] US President Bush’s directive for Turkey dinner to all soldiers & Sending Employees to the US with Credit Cards to buy Butterball Turkeys [https://www.butterball.com/]

[46:00] Why it costs the US army $1,000,000 per soldier per year to have a solider in the field

[48:30] The kind of the distractions soldiers ask for and get in the field

[50:10] The human condition and psychology of soldiers during war

[57:05] The challenges that soldiers face in the field

[01:03:37] The mental toll that being in war zones had on Lijo

[01:07:48] Relying on faith to reconcile the inner battles he was going through 

[01:11:24] Manu Militari's L'Attente - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjwm_GsNYds&ab_channel=USEFNAIT

[01:22:00] The challenges of top-down management and bringing people with you on the journey

[01:20:00] The different chapters of maturity of a CEO

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Scary Close by Donald Miller 
StoryBrand by Donald Miller

[01:27:30] Teaching kids how to understand money

[01:33:00] The kindest thing