Billionaire mindset: Scott Farquhar, founder of the $41 billion firm, Atlassian, stepped down from his Co-CEO post last year. But that didn’t mean solitary retirement, waiting for another phase to start. He wrote another chapter in his story, on his own, while still being extremely fit, well-travelled, and conducting scheduled meetings. Speaking at a Forbes conference, he revealed his three major goals he had wished to achieve after quitting his job.
The mid-40s billionaire is worth more than $10 billion, as per Bloomberg, and continues to live life lavishly and without the daily hustle. “I set myself three goals for the first year,” he said. “That was to get fit, spend time with my children and to travel aggressively,” Farquhar revealed.
How these goals transformed him
The former Atlassian CEO travelled to Germany to compete in an Ironman triathlon. Much like the viral Hyrox regime, it was an endurance event which included a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride, and then a 26.2-mile marathon. Then, he went to Sri Lanka with his family and to Patagonia with his wife. He completed his trip with the Glastonbury Festival in the UK with his friends.
He made sure to pencil in time and schedule weekly meetings with his children, and those moments feel like a ‘delight.’ In fact, he shared that he does miss some aspects of his executive life, particularly working with a team. “There’s something special about working with a team toward a shared objective, and I miss the energy and excitement,” said Farquhar.
Scott Farquhar’s Atlassian journey
Farquhar built his wealth young and quickly. He first met Cannon-Brookes at university, and the two went on to launch Atlassian in 2002 using just a few thousand dollars borrowed on a credit card. Their timing was perfect, demand for project-management software took off, and by the time Atlassian went public in New York in 2015, it was valued at over $4 billion. Today, the company is worth around $41 billion.
He also brushed aside rumours of a rift with Cannon-Brookes, saying they still catch up almost every week. “There’s been no issues,” he said.
Farquhar continues to serve on Atlassian’s board and also chairs the Tech Council of Australia. Together with his wife, he has set up Skip Capital, a technology and infrastructure-focused investment fund.
