Being a Founder and other life lessons

Here I sit struggling to find the words to fully express what it means to be the Founder of a fast moving startup. The truth is, unless you have gone through it you really cannot fully understand what happens or what it takes to persevere.

Rarely do you find someone with the qualities it takes to work long hours, have a sense of urgency, has the stamina, and is willing to wear multiple hats. What is very easy to find are people who give up once things are hard. It’s easy to find people who are eager to blame others when things don’t go well. And there is certainly no shortage of people who have no idea what real stress is and how to deal with it when it happens.

Maybe it is my military background or the fact that I often hold more than one job, but my tolerance for this last subset of people is waning as I get older. It’s not because these people are bad people. Far from it. I think it’s just their unwillingness to sacrifice for the cause. Because at the end of the day no one will have more passion for your project than what you have created as a Founder. No one will work harder to ensure its success than you.

And that’s the issue. “Hard work” has become subjective. Everyone believes they are working their hardest and that the other person should have more empathy to recognize their efforts. However, hard work and sacrifice are not binary. One person’s idea of hard work may differ from others. A person’s idea of putting in 100% depends on their experience and background.

So how do you benchmark or delineate complete commitment to hard work? Is there a way to set standards behind what it means to put in hard work if the definition is so disparate? Probably not. Someone working in a coal mine 14 hours of day may not think that putting 12 hours in front of a laptop coding equates to the same amount of hard work.

In my experience it really just comes down to just one key metric. If the company you started, or are working for, is happy with your contributions than you are likely putting in the correct amount of effort. If you are seen as an indispensable part of your organization, chances are you completely and fundamentally understand what it means to put in the long hours and work hard.

I have certainly fallen short in my own career at understanding how to put in the work and learning how to be an effective leader that can pull the best out of people. However, I have always maintained that I will work just as hard or harder than anyone I ask to come work with me. Good, bad, or indifferent I’m sure those that have worked with me can agree. And I certainly do not blame others when shit goes pear shaped.

In the end, if you are a Founder your job is to ensure the company you have founded (or co-founded) does not fail. It does not matter what you believe your job function is. If you are a Founder then your only function is the survival of your company. That means wearing multiple hats, doing things to help each other, and working towards the greater good. If you do not believe this is within the realm of your function as a Founder, then you are an employee and you have no business being a Founder in the first place. You belong in a cubicle.

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
― Maya Angelou