Demos Parneros on Scaling, Leadership, and the Founder Mindset

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 & 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.What You’ll Learn• How Staples scaled from a single store to a national chain• The leadership habits that helped Demos move across HR, marketing, operations, and real estate• How early e-commerce prepared leaders for the AI wave• What boards do and what CEOs need from them• What Demos looks for in a founder• How first generation experiences shaped his approach to work and leadershipEpisode Highlights00:00 Introduction01:00 How Staples started and why the industry needed disruption03:00 Leaving a stable job at Macy’s for a startup05:00 Early lessons on scaling stores and fixing problems fast07:00 Rotating through HR, marketing, merchandising, and operations10:00 How those moves shaped his leadership approach11:00 When he knew Staples was a national brand13:00 Staying connected to 55,000 employees15:00 How e-commerce changed the business17:00 Why customers choose stores, online, or both18:00 AI hype versus consumer reality20:00 What board work looks like in practice22:00 What CEOs want from a board24:00 Startups then and now26:00 What draws him to a founder28:00 Why ideas still matter30:00 How strong founders use AI32:00 Leadership lessons from his childhood in Cyprus34:00 How he learned English and why curiosity still drives himContact Demos Parneros• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/demosparneros• Website: demosparneros.com