TodayTix’s CEO Brian Fenty advice to young leaders: ‘There’s a fine line between fake it till you make it and learn it and do it well’

Under his leadership, the theatre ticketing platform has partnered with Netflix for a live production of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, acquired Secret Cinema and Goldstar, and now reaches over 25 million users on the app.

Although Fenty says he initially struggled with being taken seriously by peers and investors because of his age, the now 38-year-old knew better than to pretend to be wise beyond his years as that had backfired in the past—and his experience offers a valuable leadership lesson for the young and aspirational.

“There’s a fine line between fake it till you make it and learn it and do it well,” he tells Fortune.

Looking back to earlier in his career at the private equity firm Hamilton Investment Partners, where he went on to become its youngest-ever managing director, Fenty recalls a time he was asked to do a task he had never heard of.

“I was asked to create a discounted cash flow, and I was too embarrassed to say, I don’t know what that is,” he says. Instead of getting advice from someone more experienced, Fenty pulled an all-nighter, called in friends at other firms, and attempted to teach himself the task. 

In the end, it left him exhausted and no closer to finishing the task at hand, which he says needed “real world application”. 

“I burned myself out and I let my team down by not asking for help,” he concluded, adding that the experience taught him an early lesson in playing to your strengths—not your weaknesses. 

“My secret weapon is I always bring helium to any situation—and that’s my codeword for optimism,” he adds. “I try always to bring a problem-solving lens: How do we turn this around? Is it worth turning around?”

Instead of getting hung up on what you can’t do, Fenty’s advice to young aspirational workers is simple: Surround yourself with people who fill your skills gaps and ask for help when you need it so that you can focus on excelling in the areas that you’re naturally already good at.

That’s why Fenty recommends that those who want to progress up the ladder quickly put their all into finding their…