Starting a new company is hard. Let me rephrase that, starting a new company is like getting kicked in the pants every single day of the week. I quit a pretty good job last year to launch a startup with two buddies. All the comfort of free lunch be damned!
I learned a lot in the past year about myself, about endurance and about what it means to really go all in. I wanted to share some of lessons in the case other people are about to go through the same thing in their lives.
You get punched in the face a lot
Iron Mike said it best, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. We started off with many ambitious dreams and then quickly realized that life is going to be much tougher than originally thought. Being able to get up after each adverse event is critical to staying the course. Managing my energy and mental state was something I needed to learn pretty quickly.
It’s normal to feel unemployed (at first)
I kinda felt like a poser. Who am I to try to go out on my own? Do I really have what it takes to really succeed? I don’t come to the ankles of some of these successful leaders in the industry. The feeling of being an impostor was omnipresent (at first). But that started to change. As we won more clients & delivered increasingly better quality work, my confidence level increased.
I read too many crappy articles like this one
I’m only half kidding here. I’ve always been distracted but shiny objects. Spending time on reading the plethora of online listicles was not a productive use of my time. I use Momentum in Chrome to keep me from opening yet another tab.
I went to many pointless conferences
Networking is pretty important but you need to have an objective. I often went to events just for the feeling of seeing/ being seen which was ultimately unproductive. I try to limit my time to only the highest value networking opportunities.
The key is to learn faster than everyone else
It’s insane the amount of knowledge you suck in when you’re in a life or death struggle. We are now in constant learning mode, taking signals from the market to develop and improve our approach.
Working with the right partners is so important
I feel really blessed to work with two great dudes. There’s no bullshit, no politics. We often bicker and make fun of each other but the core vision is always the same. I don’t know if this always the case in partnerships but I find it very doubtful. This is my biggest take away this year.
Planning sucks but it can save your life
Agility is hyper important in a startup. You need the ability to change direction quickly. However you need an odometer, strategic planning served that purpose for my team. We take two days every quarter to map out where we are, what we need to adjust and lay out the plan for the next three months.
I absolutely love working with entrepreneurs
Working with leaders & entrepreneurs is hugely rewarding. We get to work with some great leaders and help them with their growth challenges. Dealing with deep strategy and human challenges is immensely fascinating.
Fighting for our freedom
I deeply believe in our mission of helping leaders move faster and enhancing their DNA in these exponential times. To achieve this audacious goal, we had to fight for our freedom. Not necessarily financial freedom but freedom to choose to work on the problem we want to solve. By moving beyond traditional organizational structures, we’re able to have an outsized impact.
This year has been the most tumultuous in my life and yet the most gratifying. It feels like that so much has happened in a short period of time – all the tears and effort have been worth it. And yet it feels like we’re just getting started.
