Stop Telling People What Made Your Startup a Success

If you’ve run a successful startup you’ll inevitably get questions about how you did it.

Maybe not while you’re building the thing. No, that’d be too sane. But once you’ve had an exit, taking a huge funding round, gotten some press. However the asker quantifies success.

They’ll want to know your secret. Why were you successful? What productivity hacks do you have? How can I be like you?

What’s the secret to success?

Sitting here right now, it’s pretty clear that’s all crap. There’s no secret. No silver bullet. Just work hard at something you love. And hope.

But in the moment, you’ll probably tell them. You’ll make something up. Or share something legitimate that might have had an effect.

Maybe it was your morning workout routine that got you ready for the day. Or the support from your family. Or a mentor pushing you to succeed—that’s always a crowd-pleaser.

You’ll mean well. You’ll want to help people. Instead, you’ll give false hope.

Success isn’t something you can copy. It’s not a skill you can acquire. And if it’s learnable, it’s something you have to learn on your own.

Rather than sharing tips, try sharing stories. Preferably bad ones. Give people a look into some of the times you wanted to quit. The time you lost that huge customer. The time you thought you were done.

Motivate, don’t prescribe. Help people find their own way, don’t push them to yours.

Then maybe people will stop asking, and start trying. That’s totally the secret of success, after all…