I was 17 when I was sworn into the Canadian Forces, Army. It was a proud, powerful and scary moment. Before that, I had spent several months working out to pass the physical test. Every day included 100 pushups, sit-ups and at least 3km of running. No matter how blistering hot it was, or how wet the rain left me after my runs, I was committed. It was the beginning of a 10 year relationship as a soldier.

Spring 2007, 18 years old and machine gun rounds draped over my neck

Fast forward 9 years after being a serial founder, I'm now leading the charge at MuseFind.

Almost a year after launching MuseFind, what was once a team of three founders grew to a team of 12, have our own space in beautiful Gastown, Vancouver, a roster of amazing investors and advisors hailing from Goldman Sachs Ventures, Hearst, Teradata, DoubleClick and more. On the business side, we've hit a nerve in the market with a platform that is now used by the world's top Fortune 500 companies to reach millions of their consumers throughout the world.

Whenever I meet new entrepreneurs, investors or partners, I always mention my military background not only as an icebreaker but I've learned that it is also a mark of character that speaks a thousand words (especially when you're 5'2).

1. Always Eat Last

Whenever we were in the field, we would usually having growling stomachs by the time breakfast, lunch or dinner came around. Although we were all equally hungry, the leadership team would always eat last. So the more junior your rank, you got to the hot food line first. This showed that the leadership put the welfare of the troops above their own.

We practice this principle at MuseFind. As founders we always ensure the team comes first. Unlike other companies, we see ourselves as serving them versus them serving us. The result? Happier, more productive, passionate team players who also as a result, practice this same principle amongst their peers.

2. Look Out For Your Buddy

The first time this hit me hard was when we had to wake up for reveille during basic training. Upon forming our section, we noticed a couple of fellow trainees were late. The result? We all had to do planks until the stragglers came stumbling in. Very painful. The lesson? We have to help each other out, we moved as a unit, never leave anyone behind, and we're only as capable as the slowest person on the team.

3. Tenacity Trumps All

"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue." - Napoleon Bonaparte.

A simple quote to sum up the hardest parts of being a CEO, this describes all parts of the journey from customer discovery, validation, capital raising, team building, problem solving and more.

We were always pushed to perform at the limits of our physical, mental and emotional capabilities. Rain, sun or snow, hot or cold, we never gave up, and when one of us cracked, there was always a buddy alongside to help and pick up the slack.

4. Size Doesn't Matter, Your Actions Do

The army is a pretty testosterone heavy group of people (not surprisingly). So leading a group of troops and getting their respect and attention relies heavily on your ability to speak to them with respect and confidence and to lead with your actions.

So many entrepreneurs hide behind their Ivy League degrees, big networks and forget that when leading a team, that allure only lasts for so long. Your team wants to see that you will always bravely lead the charge. And at the end of the day, great companies are built by execution--not solely by how good you are at raising capital.

From the tallest to shortest soldier

In companies there are times of war and times of peace. Here at MuseFind, I'm a wartime CEO, Andry is my wartime COO and Stephen is my wartime CTO and we've got a troop of wartime soldiers. We're leading the charge by always letting the team eat first, looking out for one another, being tirelessly tenacious and leading by actions.

Now if you ask me why I joined the army, well, that requires at least a round of drinks and some poutine. #TeamMuseFind