Five tips for startup founders to survive the battle
As a startup founder, you have up and down moments all the time. One moment you feel like you can conquer the world and another day you are in the dumps. This journey can take a toll. Your decision making ability can be hampered by this. Your vision can get blurred. Companies go down when the spirit dies and make mistakes when there is overconfidence.
Here are some tips I want to share — things I like to keep reminding myself all the time.
- Stay detached to the outcome
It is a paradox that you have to be passionate and detached at the same time. Passion gives you the belief and the energy to go all out and make it happen. Detachment keeps you level headed and thinking straight when the outcome does not meet your expectation. At a deeper level never be attached to a specific outcome.Sometimes one thing that does not work out opens the door to the real opportunity. You need enormous faith and keep a broader vision even while keeping your focus narrow with die-hard determination to achieve mini milestones.
2. Do not be in a hurry.
It is a paradox that you have to be passionate and detached at the same time. Passion gives you the belief and the energy to go all out and make it happen. Detachment keeps you level headed and thinking straight when the outcome does not meet your expectation. At a deeper level never be attached to a specific outcome. Sometimes one thing that does not work out opens the door to the real opportunity. You need enormous faith and keep a broader vision even while keeping your focus narrow with die-hard determination to achieve mini milestones.
Really? Time is one thing you do not have. You are the boss and the janitor. There are always a million things to do . And time is worth money. You are continuously burning money. Investors are getting impatient. You have your own time targets. But you just can’t hurry mentally and get frustrated.
3.Be comfortable with pending lists all the time
It takes time to get a good solid product out. It takes time for customers to come and sign up. It takes time for the investor to believe enough to put money. It takes time for your content marketing to give results. So what do you do?
Pick small battles — one at a time — and still take the time — do each of them with mindfulness — like there is no hurry. Do the finish well. Do the packaging well. Make the messaging crisp. Run the extra mile to listen to the customer and the investors — listen for the said and the unsaid. Take the time to acknowledge the efforts of your team and to keep raising the bar.
4. Do not attach your self-worth to the success of the venture
There will always be things you cannot get to. Unanswered mails, phone calls, unpaid bills, everyone around will feel that you are not giving them value. Be comfortable with that. That’s life. Do not wake up at 3 am worrying about the unfinished list. Get comfortable. It will never be done.
5. Keep your family interested in your cause
Just be aware of the top three items in your list every day and you are doing great.
Stay grounded. It is not all about you. You are not the center of the universe or the business. The concept of “me” or ego is an imaginary man-made emotion. Do not let the ups and downs take away your spark. High energy and positivity attracts success. So if your energy wanes when your startup is going through challenges, it starts eroding everything around. Your team is the first one to sense the lack of energy — yawns are contagious! Next — your extended partners who work with you to be part of your story and for equity. Next your investors, eventually your customers.
The most important people in your life want to see you energetic and happy. If you set out to do something different in the first place and be on your own, why on earth get into this prison of self doubt and self-inflicted pain? You did not leave your well paying corporate job to get into another prison with less money and still not be happy. The prison is always self created.
They say no one ever died of hard work. But stress kills in millions every day. You can be equally stressed in that corporate job even if you are working 9 to 5 and worse if you have no meaningful work to do.
A startup is a great learning ground to become even keeled, happy, in the moment, and grounded. When you master these you come out a winner.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on June 29, 2017.
