In this episode of Entrepreneur | Authorities, Demos Parneros walks through the lessons he picked up across three decades in retail and e-commerce. He helped Staples grow from five stores to a national brand, led Barnes &amp; Noble through major change, and now mentors founders who want to build durable companies. You get a clear look at what strong leadership, smart scaling, and founder mindset look like in real life.<br /><br />What You’ll Learn<br />• How Staples scaled from a single store to a national chain<br />• The leadership habits that helped Demos move across HR, marketing, operations, and real estate<br />• How early e-commerce prepared leaders for the AI wave<br />• What boards do and what CEOs need from them<br />• What Demos looks for in a founder<br />• How first generation experiences shaped his approach to work and leadership<br /><br />Episode Highlights<br />00:00 Introduction<br />01:00 How Staples started and why the industry needed disruption<br />03:00 Leaving a stable job at Macy’s for a startup<br />05:00 Early lessons on scaling stores and fixing problems fast<br />07:00 Rotating through HR, marketing, merchandising, and operations<br />10:00 How those moves shaped his leadership approach<br />11:00 When he knew Staples was a national brand<br />13:00 Staying connected to 55,000 employees<br />15:00 How e-commerce changed the business<br />17:00 Why customers choose stores, online, or both<br />18:00 AI hype versus consumer reality<br />20:00 What board work looks like in practice<br />22:00 What CEOs want from a board<br />24:00 Startups then and now<br />26:00 What draws him to a founder<br />28:00 Why ideas still matter<br />30:00 How strong founders use AI<br />32:00 Leadership lessons from his childhood in Cyprus<br />34:00 How he learned English and why curiosity still drives him<br /><br /><br />Contact Demos Parneros<br />• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/demosparneros<br />• Website: demosparneros.com