Mind The Gap: Crashing Into The Tech Party.
I’m tired. It’s been a long week. It’s been a long 5 years. Speak to anyone who’s been in the world of tech start up, and they’ll tell you just how difficult it is. Its challenges can never be underestimated.
I’m cranky. I’m sitting in our office, as the last one out, plotting and scheming on our next move as a sports-science tech start up trying to bring sports science to the world outside of the elite. It seems in whatever area in my life I partake in, there’s always a theme of tearing a veil; bringing something once hidden and accessible to a few, to the rest (in the case of Precision Sports, sports science services and technology). It’s tough, and I guess it was never meant to be easy. But sometimes….sometimes…I do wonder if it’s all a bit harder than it’s meant to be….
A few years ago, my brother and I helped at an event at a school in one of the poorest boroughs in London. We were chosen from a list of start up entrepreneurs to help with a day to promote entrepreneurship, foster team work and in the end pick the students we felt had potential. I’m recalling on this memory because there was a young girl that resonated with me in ways most wouldn’t expect. Throughout the entire event, this girl showed every attribute of being a leader…whilst doing her best to hide it. She organised her group, but never requested to be the group leader. She man-managed well, speaking quietly yet hidden, to encourage those in the team who lacked confidence. During the group presentation, she organised the entire group, but yet never presented or put herself forward. The whole time she looked to the floor, avoiding eye contact with any of the other business people there for fear of being noticed. Even when the person presenting forgot her lines, this girl had memorised it all and quietly whispered to the other what to say, whilst trying to stay as hidden as possible. And she almost remained hidden, as the other entrepreneurs overlooked her as a candidate with potential. But she spoke loud and clear to us.
This young girl, with her long scruffy blonde hair, pasty white face and quiet demeanour, was so similar to me, even though we physically looked so different. We weren’t the same race, age or even gender, and it may have been hard for others to tell what she was hiding, but we could. She didn’t speak up because she wasn’t the most eloquent of speakers. She was of the working class; a world of a single parent, a world where education and high achievement wasn’t fostered. A world where, if left unaccounted for, her statistical fate would be to end up in a job that represents her class, as most had in her council estate. Underestimated and left unaccounted for, the odds was always against her. All she needed was someone to provide her an opportunity. Sadly, we weren’t in a position to do so, considering our situation at that time wasn’t that far from hers.
At another past event at Google Campus, I made a point that seemed to be lost to many VC representatives on stage that day. When one speaks of “Friends & Family” as your first investment round, it’s almost spoken of as if it’s the way, truth and light. I had to remind the audience that there are some, like me, who come from a world where your friends are broke, and your family are dependent on you. When you’re from this world and trying to enter the tech world, it feels like fighting out from one bubble to enter another. Like going from one world, into a very strange and alien world. In that world, you’re the alien…the stranger, and you know no one. In many cases, there is no mentor who knows what kind of path you’ve taken to get there, and where to go next. Just finding a mentor is a battle in itself. There is no family friend who can introduce you to capital to help you and your business at that stage. There is no one to provide a reference to people to help you build your team. There is no one to open doors and networks for you. You’re alone.
I’m tired. It’s been a long week. It’s been a long 5 years. In truth when I started writing this, I had no idea how I would end it. I guess maybe this blog is fuelled by jealousy. For you see, even though we’ve finally developed our MVP and preparing to enter the market, I don’t think I’ve ever truly experienced the tech start up path commonly spoken of. At Precision Sports, we’ve have always felt like we’ve grown outside of the tech bubble and tech network. With very few networks and contacts, we’ve had to take the hard road. Now it hasn’t been all bad, as the time in the desert has given us some particular skills. I always say to others that at Precision Sports, we know how to make 100k feel like 500k, and probably how to make 500k feel like a million or more. I’m proud of my team and what we’ve created with so little; hardware, software(s), complex algorithms, data infrastructure, Machine-Learning, manufacturing, all with so little (compared to most hardware/SaaS start ups). I guess a part of me often wonders how things would’ve been if we weren’t constantly on the outside looking in. If we just knew a few more contacts here and there, able to pull a few more strings here and there. If we just had less of a difficult road. And I often wonder how many great ideas and businesses were started by those on the outside, who never had a sufficient runway to make it in, how things would be different. I guess I just wish that gap wasn’t so big sometimes. But as Facebook reminded me today (from a status I made 5 years ago) “A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.
I’m tired. It’s been a long week. It’s been a long 5 years. But I still have some ideas up my sleeve.
