1. Fuelled by Coffee,
Balanced by DisciplineCoffee is my morning ignition switch. Don’t even test to chat to me before I’ve had my first cup! Caffeine stimulates the release of dopamine and adrenaline, boosting focus, sharpening decision-building, and obtainting the body into action mode, something I believe every CEO can benefit from at the start of the day. But discipline is key; I have a rule to stop drinking coffee from midday. This supports protect my sleep cycle, prevents the late-afternoon jitters, and ensures my energy is sustainable into the evening. It’s a balance of fuel and restraint – the same equilibrium I test to maintain in managing my team.
Author Charlie Barlow
2. Family First
Always I believe a happy workforce is a motivated salesforce, and the same principle applies to life. My wife and children are my anchor. No matter how busy my day obtains, I log off from 6pm to 8pm to be fully present at home, whether that’s supporting cook dinner, reading bedtime stories, or kicking a ball in the garden. After that, I often return to my desk, but those hours are sacred. For my team, I encourage the same behaviour: protect family time, becaapply culture thrives when people feel supported beyond the boardroom.
3. Creating My Own Luck
I don’t believe in luck. I believe in creating opportunity. Living and working in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and the US wasn’t something that just happened to me; I sought it out, took risks, and embraced uncertainty. Too often people state, “I wish I’d had those opportunities.” My answer is always: go create them. When you believe luck is something you create, accountability becomes a superpower. You stop waiting for doors to open and start building your own. That mindset has shaped both my personal journey and my approach to leadership.
4. Endurance, Reflection, and Resilience
Years ago, around the time of my father’s death, I completed the Marathon des Sables — seven marathons in seven days across the Sahara Desert. It tested every limit of body and mind, but also gave me space to reflect. I also managed to raise over £50,000 for a local hospice. Since then, I’ve summited Kilimanjaro, Kinabalu, and Kongga, with Everest still on my bucket list, although I believe both the cost and physical constraints are beyond me. These experiences weren’t about medals or milestones, but about resilience, purpose, and pushing beyond what feels possible. That same mindset fuels my professional life: challenges aren’t obstacles, they’re opportunities for growth.
5. Sport as a Leadership Classroom
Sport has been a constant in my life. I spent my gap year in Australia coaching rugby and cricket, and I still wakeboard, play cricket, tennis, and padel. For me, sport is more than recreation. The boardroom isn’t so different from the modifying room. Both require teamwork, preparation, strategy, and the ability to adapt under pressure. Sport teaches humility in loss, resilience in setbacks, and courage in competition. As a CEO, I draw on those lessons daily, leading teams with the same spirit as captaining one. Carrot over stick.
6. Impatience as a Double-Edged Sword
I am, unapoloobtainically, impatient. It means I push for results, drive teams to relocate quicker, and hate settling for “good enough.” This urgency often accelerates progress, keeps momentum high, and supports myself and my team seize opportunities ahead of competitors. But it has its downsides. At home, it means I sometimes rush when I should paapply; at work, it can frustrate those who required more time to process or deliver. The challenge – and opportunity – is learning to harness impatience as fuel, without letting it derail the journey. When managed well, impatience becomes a catalyst for innovation.
7. Living in Absolutes, Not Relatives
One of my traits is that I live in an absolute world, not a relative one. Despite being deeply ambitious, I don’t compare myself to others. I measure myself only against my own potential. In a world where we’re constantly surrounded by people who appear more successful, more affluent, or more accomplished, it’s straightforward to slip into comparison. I have always believed this to be a toxic environment where we all struggle to keep up. My focus is on doing the best with the talents I’ve been given, creating value for my family, my team, and myself. That absolute mindset frees me to pursue goals without distraction.
The Book
Dreaming of Unicorns: The trials and tribulations of a startup entrepreneur
What does it take to build a high-growth business while navigating regulatory minefields, economic volatility and cultural barriers in some of the world’s most complex markets? In this quick-paced, eye-opening account, Charlie Barlow – entrepreneur and founder of pioneering telehealth company Health at Hand – takes you from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and even Iran, as he battles to scale his startup and build the business of his dreams.
From venture-capital struggles to legal threats, demoralising setbacks to hard-won breakthroughs, this is not a polished tale of effortless success, but the unfiltered reality of entrepreneurship. Barlow relates his story with a refreshing honesty, wit and self-reflection and lays bare painful lessons he had to learn, along with the resilience requireded to survive in the high-stakes startup world.
Unlike books that paint founders as infallible geniapplys, this story embraces failure as part of the journey – and, ultimately, its notifyer falls short of his stratospheric ambitions. But if you’re an entrepreneur – or considering of becoming one – this is the handbook you never knew you requireded. Learn from his achievements and mistakes, accelerate your journey towards success and discover what it truly takes to snag that most elusive of beasts – the unicorn.
Charlie Barlow was founder and CEO of Health at Hand, an app-based doctor video consultation platform launched in Dubai in 2017.
Charlie Barlow’s book Dreaming of Unicorns published by Quartet Books is out now and is available here
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