The Journey of a Startup Founder: Reflecting on Triumphs, Failures, and Growth

It’s been two years and nine months since Purple Beard embarked on its inaugural project delivery. Recently, we gathered for our annual team day, prompting me to pause and reflect on the past three years. As the CEO of this venture, I’ve experienced a rollercoaster journey filled with triumphs, failures, and significant personal and professional growth. It’s a path that has tested my mettle, and today, I want to share some insights from this exciting ride.

Triumphs:

1. Empowering Through Education: Since January 2021, I have led our company to successfully train over 900 individuals. These educational endeavors have aimed at equipping them with the skills needed to succeed in their chosen fields.
2. Fostering Career Transitions: Our efforts have borne fruit as we’ve supported more than half of our trained individuals in transitioning to new jobs or different tech careers. Witnessing their transformations has been immensely gratifying.
3. OFSTED Good Rating: Achieving an OFSTED Good rating for our educational provision has validated our commitment to quality and excellence.
4. A Committed Team: I’m proud to lead a dedicated team, evidenced by the remarkable reduction in staff attrition to just 5%. A cohesive team is vital for our success.
5. Recognition and Awards: The acknowledgment of our efforts through nominations for two awards and winning one has been an encouraging affirmation of our journey’s direction.
6. Clear Vision and Plan: We’ve established a clear vision for our organization, supported by a strategic plan outlining our path forward until October 2026.

As I reflect on these triumphs, I also recognize my own growth as a person and as a leader. I’ve evolved from being a micro-manager to someone committed to empowering my team to help realize our shared vision. Clarity now defines our journey, and I am committed to continuous learning and personal development. My self-awareness has grown significantly, enabling me to identify my strengths and areas for improvement. It’s important to note that self-awareness is an ongoing journey; it never ceases. My leadership style is now more composed and less chaotic.

However, it’s essential to recognize that even as a serial startup founder with some successful exits, failure has been part of my story. In retrospect, I’ve come to understand the various factors contributing to these setbacks:

• Lack of Confidence: Self-doubt and a lack of confidence have held me back from taking certain risks and seizing opportunities.
• Imposter Syndrome: Feeling like an imposter has at times hindered my ability to recognize my own worth and potential.
• Absence of Mentorship: I’ve learned that mentorship can be a guiding light, and its absence has hindered some of my past endeavors.
• Inability to See the Bigger Picture: Tunnel vision prevented me from seeing the broader implications of my decisions.
• Team Dynamics: Not always having the right team in place has also played a role in past setbacks.
• Control Freak Tendencies: A penchant for control sometimes stifled creativity and innovation.
• Fear and Arrogance: Fear and arrogance have, at times, clouded my judgment and decision-making.
• Lack of Planning and Ignoring Advice: Neglecting comprehensive planning and disregarding valuable advice have been detrimental.

Through these experiences, I’ve learned a valuable lesson — the importance of self-awareness. It’s a crucial element in understanding how our behaviors impact both ourselves and those around us. Self-awareness allows us to recognize and break free from negative thought patterns that can sabotage our personal and professional pursuits. I’ve also learned to leverage my unique traits, such as ADHD, as assets rather than liabilities. Listening, reflection, and logic have replaced chaos in my decision-making process.

If you’re an entrepreneur steering your own ship, I urge you to prioritize self-awareness as a critical skill. I cultivated my self-awareness through mindfulness practices like meditation, sought feedback, engaged in coaching and writing, and practiced self-empathy. Learning to regulate my emotions has been especially transformative.

Self-awareness can be nurtured in several ways, and it’s an essential trait for CEOs and leaders alike. Understanding your strengths, weaknesses, values, emotions, and their impact on others and your organization is fundamental to effective leadership.

As I conclude this reflection, I’d like to share a quote by Charlie Mackey that often serves as my guide:

“We have such a long way to go,”

sighed the boy.

“Yes, but look how far we’ve come,”

said the horse.

It’s a reminder that while the journey ahead may be challenging, reflecting on how far we’ve come can provide the motivation to keep moving forward.

Purple Beard offers a wide range of courses tailored to enhance your reliability, communication, leadership, creativity, and more. Our hands-on training and industry-certified workshops are designed to empower you with the skills that employers are actively seeking. Explore our courses and invest in your future success with Purple Beard Training.