3 simple pillars for startup success
An introduction to what I’ve learnt from academic and practical experiencing in startup failure
Mandatory self-absorbed background
It seems these days that any sane — or insane depending on who you ask — individual may lay indirect claim to being a pundit of something. The poor soul who has experienced one too many breakups becomes a champion of ‘self-love’. The hipster who has had his millionth cup of latte transcends physical form, and acquires the brilliance to pen his truly novel contemplation(s) on meaning and happiness. And the eloquent business somebody who’s read sufficient articles on “howtobusiness” dotcom, followed Richard Branson on Linkedin, and checked out Forbes for good measure, elevates to the status of entrepreneurship guru.
As these thoughts lingered my mind, I was simultaneously inspired and envious of these high intellectuals preaching their wisdom on communal IQ heightening platforms like Medium. I wanted a piece of the action. I too wanted to spread my wonderful ‘theories’ on a trending subject area. I too wanted to reword what little literature I’ve had the privilege of reading in exchange for pittance payments and boundless imagined pride. What must I do to emulate the greatness of self-made authors? How could I ever join their rank and file?
Then…it hit me…I’m someone who’s experienced work in a failed startup! I’ve read quite the many business management papers in my time as a business student and entrepreneurship was a research interests! Best of all…I HAVE INTERNET ACCESS!
This was it. It was as if Zeus had cast his rainbow bolts, sparking an incredible revelation. I too could be an obscurely esteemed internet writer trading confirmation bias for pix-elated insults and glory in the comment section. So…let’s do this.
Guiding Pillars of Startup Success (Not Dying)
Every discipline needs a set of good guiding pillars, golden rules if you will. Good pillars ought to display traits like ease of memory and being rooted in relative common sense. The capacity for expansion to depths that fill at least one chapter of an overpriced textbook, or one week in a module students reluctantly take to fulfill graduation criteria, also appears important.
By contrast, bad pillars often have little depth potential, and are grounded in unknown logic(s). A bad example of a pillar, in writing, would be Capitalizing Every Word Except for Conjunctions in a Title. It makes little sense to emphasize each word when the full phrase ought to highlight the purpose of the text to follow. Yet, somehow, a lot more people do it than one would think is necessary…hmm…
Anyway, in what little time I’ve spent helping a failed startup and pondering entrepreneurship articles, a few themes emerge as potential pillars for entrepreneurial success. The three pillars I find most important are: Cash, People, and Direction.
Some say startups are like odysseys
A well known rule in the world of finance, and lending in particular, is that Cash is King. For startups, cash provides the runway needed for traction to be attained. More than that, the availability of cash determines how slow or fast the business can work to reach its goals, and how small or large each next sprint can be. An excess of cash is almost always beneficial. For one, being able to hire better and more staff tends to expedite the attainment of each yardstick. Additionally, a cushion of cash allows leaders of the startup to better contemplate a winning strategy and execute in a sustainable, well-paced, manner. Do you always need money to make money? Well, no, but in the context of startups, the lack of it often marks the line between continuing with and giving up on one’s dreams.
Unless your ‘startup’ dreams involve coding a game and self-publishing it on the app store, chances are, you’re going to need to work with people. People drive proficiency in startup environments. A good team of founders can fill critical skill and resource gaps necessary for success; a bad team can drive roundabout conflict and loss of direction. A good retinue of a employees can grease and bring quality to execution; a bad collective can slow pace and burn cash reserves away with little to show for it. Good mentors and partners help identify the most suitable paths and lowest cost solutions; a lack of them can turn progress into misdirected jabs in the dark.
By now, it should be clear that good directions is a key trait aided by the previous two pillars. Good directions flow like streams, sharp and resolute in its journey to the outlet but flexible and adaptable to the obstacles along its path. End goal for startups often appear misty at first. Founders may have a general vision of where they want the company to be and what they want it to do. How the specific market space they want to fill or create, and exact paths to take to get there are often unspecified and ever changing. New developments and constraints can quickly derail existing plans. When that happens, startups that invest too much to one particular path can often find it difficult to migrate to alternative tracks and keep going. A good strategy involves setting the general direction and honing the focus of staff and resources onto it. Simultaneously, good strategy also obligates proactive identification of alternative capillaries and circumnavigation of roadblocks.
Saving the nuances and structure for later
By now, you may find that the three pillar sections are a little, how should I put it, all over the place. That’s because a greater exploration of each, featuring nifty charts and sensible flow, will come with future posts. For one, I would like to explore tips on how startups can fulfill each of the pillars set out.
Moreover, most startups begin with overlapping, ill-defined ideas which collide before eventually settling to form concrete cores. Clearly, the flow deployed is a conscious attempt by the ever dutiful writer of this post to mimic and display the beautifully chaotic nature of startups in their initial phases.
Jokes aside, do look forward to my future posts. I hope that you have gained some tiny wisdom from my gibberish or, at the least, had a passably enjoyable few minutes of reading.
Cheers.
