Gil Snir is the founder & CEO of AuditCover, the first fully digitised insurance product that protects accounting firms, financial planners, advisers, service providers (intermediaries) and their clients from the hefty expenses that come with being audited.
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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
I am the CEO and founder within an insurance technology startup, AuditCover.
I’ve had an unorthodox career. Almost 100% of my post university life has been spent founding companies. I studied economics at university and during that time launched an ecommerce venture distributing shellac nail polish across Australia.
A few months after university I co-founded and spent 10 years running a marketing software and services business. I got involved in startup investing and advising and that carried me into insurance tech.
2) What does a day in your life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
Life in startups can be wild, no two days are the same! There is always so much to do and it is easy to get lost in the busy-ness.
A recent workday involved board pack prep in the morning, a product development roadmap session, some conversations with customers, drafting a couple job ads and briefing the roles with our talent manager amongst other miscellaneous tasks throughout.
It can be hectic so I use a trick to align my focus. I start the day with my laptop closed and a blank piece of paper. I write down the 3 to 5 most important things (MIT) I’d like to complete.
Every day is different though I try to ensure it always involves connecting with my team, speaking to our customers and working through my MIT list.
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
Absolutely. We are a remote first business and our team operates from Sydney, Coffs Harbour and Brisbane. Most days I’ll work from home except Thursdays where our Sydney team will get together in person. It works well with my life as my wife and I have a 15 month old boy.
My days start at 5.30am. I get to start the day by greeting the household’s early riser, my 15 month old son, Bodhi. He’s typically standing up in the cot raring and ready to go. I prep his breakfast whilst mum gets ready and then we swap. We usually go for a walk on a track or the beach and bring out Italian greyhound, Rovi for a run and play on the sand.
I’m back by 8 and in the office or home office by 8.30am.
We encourage our team to make work fit with their lives. This means our team with kids can balance their schedules with work and that if someone needs to work from New Zealand whilst visiting family, they can.
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
Literal balance is often unattainable though a sense of balance or content is very possible. I find that parts of my life that are in focus at one time will inevitably take time away from other parts of my life and that’s okay. Family and work, fitness, friends, spirituality and romance.
There are a lot of gardens to care for and we can only do as much as we can do. Then lines got blurred further with working from home and I needed to better integrate our work into our lives. It’s allowed me time and space in the morning to be present and enjoy the family time before the work day kicks off.
My day has somewhat of a schedule and rhythm to how it starts and how it finishes. I like to finish up at 5pm to prepare dinner and give my amazing wife some time to herself as I get our son ready for bed or start cooking dinner.
We (my wife and I) eat together in the quiet of the house and share stories from the day. No matter what level of craziness went down, this little ritual, eating at the table, no devices tends to give the whole day a good sense of balance.
5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?
Everything changed when our baby boy arrived. My running dropped back and the dad bod settled in! I have reintroduced running and breath work into my day with some pranayama breathing exercises.
Each night my wife and I take turns sharing our three gratefuls at dinner. That has been a great tradition that we do every day. And keeps each other accountable, even when we are wrecked!
6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?
Good to Great – Jim Collins is an essential business book that I am reading again.
The Promised Land – Barack Obama is an incredible recount of his time in office. He is an incredible storyteller.
7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?
Slack has replaced 60% to 80% of emails and is the central tool for our teams.
My Garmin Forerunner is on my wrist most of the time and is a great, simple watch for running.
Calendly has made sharing calendars and booking meetings a lot easier
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
There is a good operator that works in our area, the Hon. James Griffin, MP and member for Manly. He has been an incredible force for good in the area and particularly engaged with small business efforts, acting as an effective channel for the needs of small businesses at a government level. One of the most community involved politicians I’ve seen.
9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
It’s less a balance than a balancing act or a pursuit towards finding a sense of balance. To quote Don Miguel Ruiz in The Four Agreements: “always do your best.”
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