Why Startups Must Break Stuff and Then Repair

We all break things. Sometimes small, sometimes valuable, sometimes those that can’t be fixed. But every time this happens it leaves us in a moment of despair, bringing into focus everything that has been going wrong with us. Sometimes it might just push us too far. We feel vulnerable, directionless and cornered. What falls apart, isn’t always exceedingly valuable but the smallest of things can prove to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
On our journey with Lernr as a startup, we’re beginning to realize how often we will break stuff. We seldom do things right the first time. When the stakes and the odds are high, Murphy’s law has a strange way of becoming frequently applicable. These “breaks” tend to hit startups harder; we’re cash strapped, new to the game and we function in uncertainty. We have to make choices between getting a rented desk to work on and going out for a meal. More often than not, we settle for instant noodles. Our moments of vulnerable anxiety and helplessness therefore come more frequently and intensely. The proverbial camel has his task cut out.
We have also realized over time, that these moments and breaks have been very important for us. They give us opportunities to re-evaluate and re-orient our efforts. While emotionally turbulent, these moments have taught us how to be more resilient. The magnitude of the problems that we face and of what will be at stake, is only going to increase as we grow. Resilience will be an important trait for us in the long run and needs to be learned the hard way.
When we break things or blow chances, the experience is akin to hitting a speed-breaker on the road. We were probably going too fast for our own safety. Much like the need for speed, the rush of pursuing an idea that captivates us, often makes us neglect the risks it entails. While we’ve mentioned it before in one of our posts, it is not always easy to be able to intrinsically step off the gas and look past our denial. Sometimes, an external stimulus is exactly what we need to look at all the things that might be going wrong. We’ve had the chance to understand a lot of things about our platform and business from having our applications rejected and grand plans blown up in our faces. Each time that this has happened, we’ve also seen fresh wind in our sails, and have been able to chart more streamlined courses.
This brings us to another discovery that we’ve made. We truly understand the value of the things we break, and the weight of the risks we take, when we have to repair and build it all back from scratch. It keeps us from getting careless. Startups are known for taking risks, but we’ve in the past underestimated the magnitude of the repercussions that might arise from those risks. We’ve learnt a few lessons. That is not to say that we are averse to taking risks, or that startups in general should not take risks; we’ve just learnt to calculate the variables around them better. Each time something falls apart, we discover what it will take to put it back together. This makes us more careful of what we get into. We come back stronger, smarter and better equipped.
It is also an immense character building exercise. For people like us with little to no exposure to the big bad real world, it has proven to be a great way to understand that the world will not always be kind to us. Fortune will not always favor us, no matter how brave we’ve been. Timelines will go up in flames, commitments shall not be met, promises will not be kept and important things will be broken. We learn that this is the world we live in and it is here that we must thrive. Each day our belief grows stronger in the fact that we will not succeed despite these speed-breakers. We will succeed because of them.
It is surprising (or not?) how everything reiterates the principles of what we’re trying to do through Lernr, for us. Not every person you meet will be nice. Not every minute you spend teaching someone, will feel rewarded. But such is the organic nature of life and human experiences. Growing is not easy. Lernr is about being able to tap into the knowledge resources near us, to be able to expand the width of our experiences and learning in this world. Sure, there will be bumps on the road, but at the end of the day, we’ll have gained from our experiences and emerged as better individuals and societies. Isn’t that what life is supposed to be about?
So, what will you break today?
Originally published at lernrproject.com on July 10, 2017.