A Startup is a lot Like Riding a Mountain Bike
I’ve been riding mountain bikes for over 15 years and I’ve covered a lot of terrain during that time.
I started working in bike shops after I graduated high school and fell in love with cycling. A new adventure is only a few pedal strokes away and the thrill of the unknown can become addicting. These days I’m lucky if I get a few rides in a week but I still try. It’s a great way to blow off steam, clear the head and stay fit.
I spend most of my time working on my startup E-DealerDirect, where I am Chief Technology Officer. We’re a small but quickly growing startup where I wear multiple hats. I contribute to the big picture strategy but I also work in trenches alongside our developers on daily programming tasks. Our technology surface spans two native apps, an online marketplace and a suite of back end tools for our team and customers.
It can get pretty hectic sometimes and I’ve found that it’s important to make time for self care to ensure that I am at my best for the company. As we grow, I’ll be able to delegate more and more but for the time being, there is a careful balance to keep.
A few weeks ago, I was riding through the mountains, clearing my head and it occurred to me: Running a startup is a lot like riding a mountain bike. I was a few miles into the trail system and usually by this time my body starts to take over and everything becomes automatic and my mind wanders to topics like software engineering, politics and business strategy among other things.
To get to this ‘zen state’ as I like to self inflatingly call it, there is typically a point where your body starts telling your brain, “let’s give up, this is too hard” and if you do give up and turn around, you will not get there literally or metaphorically but once you push through one of these episodes, your body starts falling in line and accepting that were going farther today and it takes over to maximize fuel and efficiency, freeing the mind to other tasks.
On this particular day I could not help but notice the parallels to running a startup. Before joining E-DealerDirect as founding CTO, I started and ran a number of startups and small business and from my experience, there are moments like this where the brain starts to play tricks on itself and you start questioning whether you can and should go on. While I think the answer to that is hugely subjective and relative to your personal position, I’ve found that pushing through some of these moments can be hugely rewarding.
Today, this is more relevant than ever; with the global pandemic and subsequent economic crisis, it easy for our brains to turn to flight. Personally, my business has been heavily affected by the slowdown and it left me a bit shocked initially. Almost overnight, we lost nearly 90% of our typical transaction volume. My brain started telling me all kinds of stories of why now was the time to give up and I should move on.
“Startups are too hard”.
“Maybe you should get a real job before you’re too old”.
“Now is a good time to take a break”.
These were all things my brain was telling me and honestly it was crushing. This was definitively a personal low spot. At one point, I even started looking for jobs outside of E-DealerDirect. While my brain was telling me it was the smart thing to do, it wasn’t aligning with my long term goals. By carefully reevaluating what my goals were, I was able to push through this episode of doubt and find a new source of motivation.
Just like a mountain bike ride, I pushed through that point where it made sense to give up.
At E-DealerDirect we’re using this slow period to build towards the future. We’re working on new native applications, strategic partnerships and new/old customer engagement. We’re putting the pieces in place to be successful as the economy evolves. Business is coming back little by little for us and projections look good but we still don’t how things will play out. It’s important to stay informed and dynamic in these evolving circumstances.
Sometimes the terrain gets rough on the mountain and you have to get creative.
