Introducing “Founder Stories”
Startup founders sharing what they’ve learnt
I’ve started a new collection on Medium, collecting stories of people who have founded startups. It’s called Founder Stories. Here’s what it’s about.
Confidence is listening
To start a startup requires a great deal of self-confidence. In my case, thinking back to when I started my first company it was also plain old cockiness. I saw my boss having a fancy lifestyle while I wrote all the code, and I thought “why am I working so hard to make him rich?” so I quit, reasoning that I could easily make it on my own under my own steam.
“I can do it better! How hard can it be? All these old folk are just doing it wrong”. It was so obvious that I didn’t need to listen to anything anyone else was saying, and I just needed to get on and build my company. Well, we all know that startups are hard, and it’s only in hind-sight do I realise I should have listened a little more than I did back then.
You need that self-confidence if you’re going to remain sane at an early stage company. But over time, I’ve learnt there’s a balance to be had, and having a strong idea of what you want to achieve must also be combined with an ability to hold that idea loosely.
Strong ideas, loosely held
The strong idea, loosely held is more powerful than a strong idea alone. The idea of being able to listen to others and change your direction, yet being extremely convicted of what you’re working on can sound paradoxical.
Yet without the ability to chop and change what you’re doing and how you’re working—to alter your opinions and then to hold new ideas just as strongly—you run the risk that you’re betting that your original idea is the right idea, right from the start. And it’s never like that. Startups are iterative. We must learn as we go, and the cockiness of the startupper thinking they are completely right about their idea could be a risk.
No startup is an island
It’s highly unlikely that you’re going to face an issue that nobody else has tackled before while you’re starting up. Sure, your specific case will be different, but if you look around you you’ll find that others have faced similar things.
So listen. I do. All the time. I really, really listen to what people say. I ignore opinions too, but it’s important to be able to adapt your behaviour by surrounding yourself with good inputs. People who ask questions, people who’ve been there before who can save you reinventing the wheel, and that’s why I’m writing this piece.
Medium has been a fascinating place to be part of this year. I’ve met so many people, and read things that have really stuck with me. Things that have changed the way I approach things. But there’s so much published here now, I know I’m missing things. There are some great people here who have founded companies, and as someone who wants to learn from others all the time, I had a tiny idea.
A collection of founder stories
Could Medium be a place to collect the stories of startup founders? To learn from other people who’ve been there before? To expose the mistakes, to learn about the opaque decisions that happen behind closed doors?
I think so.
So I’ve started a new collection “Founder Stories”, just for writing by people who’ve founded startups. Let’s learn from each other’s mistakes and successes. Let’s make a little part of the internet where new people can get a leg-up in starting their new venture.
Some simple rules:
- A story written by a founder
- Written with the intention of being useful for others
- Not trying to sell something
Please hit “Follow” below—you’ll then see new contributions appear on the home page. And if you “Recommend” this then more people hear about it.
If you have a piece that you think should be included, please let me know, or submit it to the Founder Stories collection, where you can read them all.
Here’s to learning from each other’s mistakes and successes!
