4 Lessons Startups Can Learn From Introverts: From Sensitive Antelopes to Quiet Persistence
I started a book club with myself.
This weekend, I finished the first assignment: Quiet, by Susan Cain. With 2 million+ copies sold, I realize I am coming late to the popular psychology of introverts party, but the book got me thinking about introverts in the startup community.
As a happy, proud and self-proclaimed introvert, I have managed to end up working in an early stage VC… aka the ‘meta’ granddaddy of the extroverted startup world (anyone out there who has attended a 500 Startups conference and been bombarded with neon lighting, bass soundtracks, and packed hallways to ‘work’ knows exactly what I’m talking about). At SOSV we have done a couple of blog posts highlighting diversity among our portfolio founders — from being the most female friendly VC to the extensive geographic backgrounds of our founders, to the strengths of being a founder with a disability.
It turns out 1/3 to 1/2 of the population falls somewhere on the introverted spectrum. So in the spirit of recognizing strength in diversity, relating a few lessons from Quiet, and sharing my own experience as an introvert in a VC, I have put together what I think are the top four lessons that startups can learn from introverts:
Lesson 1: Embrace your inner sensitive antelope
Picture a hot air balloon climbing into the sky, propelled by roaring propane and a healthy updraft. One problem: the balloon is anchored to the ground by a lonely figure, holding a thick rope. For many introverts (myself included), you feel like that person holding down the dream. Your ever-optimistic CEO sits in the basket, dreaming of endless possibility, and there you are: holding them back. It’s a bit of a bummer to be honest — always finding problems and playing the eternal pessimist. As Kain says in Quiet: “introverts are constitutionally programmed to downplay reward — to kill their buzz, you might say — and scan for problems.”
Thankfully, turns out that introverts’ qualities as “sensitive, watchful, problem-oriented individuals” are quite useful. Imagine a herd of antelopes that are grazing: if the herd has a few (introverted) members that constantly look up and are highly observant to surroundings, it is more likely they will spot the incoming lions and the entire herd won’t be eaten. Similarly, it is important for startups to hire and heed the sensitive antelopes in your organizations — the finance team who monitors the budget-to-actual revenues on a monthly basis and looks for irregularities, or the HR lead who talks to employees daily and makes sure that your key developers are happy and not planning to quit. These seemingly tedious tasks can often forecast (and avert) threats to the organization.
Lesson 2: Know the difference between Open Source and Open Plan
Steve Wozniak, one of Silicon Valley’s most famous introverts, advised future generations of inventors to “work alone. You’re going to be able to design revolutionary products and features if you’re working on your own. Not on a committee. Not on a team.”
An idolized hero among entrepreneurs and not a team player? Yep.
Similarly, open source movements that continue to lead our technical innovation, while built on collaborative principles, are often driven by individuals who prefer to code in the evenings than go to a boozy meetup. I recently visited a startup office in Mountain View which was physically divided into the program and product teams. Half the floor was a chatty open plan set up, and the other half was all closed cubicles. Can you guess what half the technical team worked on?
Many companies have taken steps to give employees both collaborative and individual spaces for work in an office. At SOSV, all of our accelerator programs are run in co-working spaces (maker spaces, labs, offices) where teams can learn from each other and build community. But the first time you visit one of our spaces, you may be surprised at how quiet it is, and how difficult it can be to nab one of the solo phone booths. Remember that the introverts’ mantra — that solitude breeds creativity — extends beyond just developers. Consider your finance team building new excel models, your Chief Science Officer preparing cells for RNA extraction, the PR lead developing key messaging, or your analyst writing a blog post. Remember that open source and open plan aren’t the same — allow physical space for your introverted team members to persist and innovate.
Lesson 3: Perfect the question-only conversation
Much of the advice for introverts in the startup community is about how to make yourself a more effective salesperson — better pitching, more confident, oozing charisma. While these are fabulous traits and often DO generate fabulous sales, they aren’t the only thing you should be looking for in your bizdev team. Quiet tells the story of a soft-spoken introverted salesman who went door to door selling kitchen knives, and broke all the sales records for his company within a year. The secret? He spent his entire ‘conversation’ with his customer asking questions. Understanding needs, challenges, developing a relationship. In tech-speak: identifying product-market fit and building brand loyalty. A couple of years ago I built and ran a national online math competition for children in Ireland. A global expansion and 250,000 students later, I still count my biggest success as getting a prickly, middle-aged, tech-averse teacher from the rural west of Ireland to sign up her school. How did I do it? I asked questions. I said nothing. After 60 minutes of “a day in the life of a rural Irish teacher,” she asked me a few questions. Then she got her 10-year-old student to sign the class up. The persistence paid off, and she ended up spreading the word to half the primary school teachers in the county.
This introvert skill in the art of question-conversation is suited to fundraising as well as sales. At SOSV some of our best closers actively channel their inner introverts. Since SOSV’s unique vertical accelerator model does not fit into an existing investment paradigm, we are painting a brand new picture for investors. The colors we use and the structure of each pitch takes shape from questions: Is there an interest in emerging markets? Is delivering socially responsible investments important to your clients? These questions shape a unique and tailored pitch to each LP. So I challenge all of you to spend one investor conversation or customer call a week only asking questions, and test the results. Who knows? You may end up gaining a new tech-averse teacher ally or expose a new angle to your investors in the process.
Lesson 4: Ask “what if” rather than “what is”
Lastly, let’s talk about problem solving. Extroverts are attuned to the here and now — to the “what is”. They are observant, goal oriented, and much more effective at multitasking. Introverts on the other hand take longer to process, reflect, imagine, and are focused on the “what if.” Our problem solving may take a bit longer, but we are conscientious and persistent. Persistence isn’t glamorous, but as Einstein said, “It’s not that I’m so smart. It’s that I stay with problems longer.”
So what does this mean for you, our SOSV startups? Entrepreneurs focus a lot on the idea of failing fast: pivot, rebrand, MVP, relaunch, test, iterate. I’m admittedly poor at this — to a perfectionist MVPs are like nails on a chalkboard. While you extroverts develop the MVPs, consider bringing introverts in before you discard a poor idea. See if there is something to improve, or a new angle to consider, before discarding entirely. Persistence may pay off.
Like everything, we need a balance — of risky and safe, action and reflection, problem and solution. I simply ask that you consider the strength and diversity that introverts can bring to your company the next time you make a hire. And for you introverts happily working away in a startup — remember the quiet value that you are bringing to your business. Be proud to be a sensitive antelope, embrace the buzz-killer in your company (they are doing it for your own good), create space for solitude to breed creativity, look for salespeople who ask more than they answer, and bring a bit more persistence to your pivots. Enjoy the quiet.
Originally published at sosv.com on November 8, 2016.
