Aytekin Tank
Entrepreneur; Founder and CEO, Jotform at Jotform Inc.
Aytekin Tank is the founder and CEO of Jotform and the author of Automate Your Busywork. Tank is a renowned industry leader on topics such as entrepreneurship, technology, bootstrapping and productivity. He has nearly two decades of experience leading a global workforce.
Articles by Aytekin Tank
Closing the Innovation Gap: Why Diversity in STEM is a CEO Priority
Innovation is not created in an echo chamber. Yet, look at the engineering teams of most Fortune 500 companies, and you see a mirror image of the past, not a vision of the future. The gap in STEM diversity isn't just a social issue; it's an innovation crisis. If everyone on your team thinks alike, you aren't disrupting anything—you're just nodding in agreement. The Cognitive Diversity Multiplier Data shows that diverse teams outperform homogenous ones by 35%. Why? Because cognitive diversity—different backgrounds leading to different problem-solving approaches—is the fuel of breakthrough ideas. When you limit who builds your technology, you limit who buys it. CEOs need to stop delegating 'diversity' to HR and start viewing it as R&D. Fixing the Leaky Pipeline It's not enough to hire; you have to retain. Women and minorities leave tech at twice the rate of their counterparts. Why? Culture. If your boardroom doesn't look like your customer base, you are flying blind. We need mentorship programs that aren't just photo ops, but pathways to the C-suite. Diversity isn't a metric to be reported. It's an edge to be exploited.
Wellness as a Retention Strategy: Why Your Top Talent is Burned Out
Your top performers are not leaving because of money. They are leaving because they are exhausted. In the modern corporate world, 'hustle culture' has become a liability. High performers will run through walls for you, but if you don't give them time to heal, they will eventually run out the door. Wellness isn't a perk; it's a P&L strategy. The ROI of Rest Replacing a C-suite executive costs 213% of their annual salary. Replacing a mid-level manager costs 150%. A gym membership subsidy costs $50 a month. Do the math. Investing in real wellness—which means culture, not just calories—is the single highest-ROI retention tool you have. Culture of Permission You can't just tell people to 'take a break.' You have to model it. If the CEO sends emails at 11 PM on Sunday, the team feels pressure to respond. Wellness starts at the top. Leaders need to create a 'Culture of Permission' where rest is seen as a performance enhancer, not a sign of weakness. Energy Management vs. Time Management Stop managing minutes and start managing energy. A rested employee can do in 2 hours what a burned-out employee does in 8. As leaders, we need to respect the biological reality of our teams. Humans are not machines. Treat their energy like your most precious capital—because it is. Retain your talent by saving their sanity.
The Founder-Brand Paradox: When to Step Forward and When to Step Back
We live in the age of the Celebrity CEO. Elon, Zuck, Bezos—their names are bigger than the companies they built. For a founder, this is seductive. Being the 'face' of the brand drives awareness and attracts talent. But it creates a dangerous paradox: the stronger your personal brand, the harder it is for your company to scale without you. The Asset Becomes a Liability Investors call it 'Key Person Risk.' If your stock price drops 10% because you have the flu, you haven't built a business; you've built a cult of personality. The goal of a Founder Brand isn't fame; it's transferability. You must use your spotlight to illuminate the mission, not just yourself. When to Step Forward Step forward in moments of crisis. Step forward when articulating the 10-year vision. Step forward to recruit key executives. In these moments, your personal credibility is the currency. When to Step Back Step back from product launches. Step back from day-to-day operational wins. Let your team take the stage. If you are the only one quoted in press releases, you are failing to build bench strength. The ultimate test of a Founder Brand is whether the company can thrive when you are on vacation—or when you retire. Build a brand that is bigger than your ego.
Crisis Proof: Building Brand Equity Before the Storm Hits
The worst time to buy insurance is when your house is on fire. The worst time to build brand equity is when you are in the middle of a PR crisis. Yet, this is exactly how many executives operate. They treat branding as a 'nice to have' until Twitter (X) creates a trending hashtag about their latest failure. The Trust Bank Account Think of Brand Equity as a bank account. Every time you deliver on a promise, you make a deposit. Every time you are transparent, you make a deposit. A crisis is a massive withdrawal. If your account is empty, you go bankrupt (reputationally). If your account is full, you pay the fine and move on. Companies with high brand equity recover 3x faster from crises than those without it. Proactive Vulnerability Crisis-proofing isn't about being perfect. It's about being human. The brands that survive storms are the ones that have already established a dialogue with their customers. They have owned their small mistakes in the past, so they are trusted to own their big ones. Silence is not a strategy. Proactive vulnerability is. Don't wait for the storm. Build your shelter now.