Today I decided to begin a series on what impacts new enterprises so hard that such events strikes blows to people like you who are leading startups.
My decision to discuss the series was triggered by an event I attended this past weekend. Ina conference center among the coastal redwood mountains near my home, I listened to a group of men share how they had coped with adversity in their lives. Each had a very personal story that we listened to. We benefited from the adverse experiences of other men. This was part of a weekend retreat sponsored by the church I belong to. We focused on testing how we had applied the advice of Jesus to troubling events in our lives. Then we told what had happened.
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I will begin today with adversity.
Adversity is one blow to leaders of startups. To some it breaks the will of the person and erodes their character, leading to a personal crash and -- most likely -- failure of the new enterprise. To others it awakens adrenaline and starts them off to respond with energized will and ends in strengthened character and a new enterprise that continues on its quest for enduring success.
"Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records." William A. Ward, writer.
That was my Twitter of today.
There are blows that hit people in startups. They happen inevitably. They always come. They are always a surprise, are never planned. Here are a list of just a few I have encountered in the lives of people in real startups:
- VP got a heart attack.
- VP hooked on heroin.
- Founder lost girlfriend ("Either me or the startup").
- Lost wife ("I can't take it any more!")
- Three year old child got brain stem tumor.
- Went through window of rental car in crash in London.
- Wife nearly died from first pregnancy -- lost the baby.
- Investors fired me/founder/CEO.
- Investors changed their minds, no more cash.
- Customers changed their minds, went with lying competitor.
- CTO could not deliver, was incompetent.
- CTO sued the startup.
- CTO won a bungled lawsuit.
- CTO that won hired away key engineer.
- Kids say they hate startups.
- Wife agrees.
- Miss second wedding anniversary weekend celebration.
- Miss all birthdays in family the past year.
- Husband says he is having an affair.
- Engineer starts company in Asia by stealing our technology.
- 42 venture capital partners decline to invest.
- Surprise launch of stealth startup for same product as ours occurs nine months before we are ready.
And the list could go on much farther.
Let me ask you a question: "How would you respond to such adversity?"
Your response will determine a great deal of your success (attracting investors, hiring key employees, getting first customers to commit, signing strategic partner deals, and so on).
Why? Because adversity is a constant companion to startup leaders.
Last night I listened to a super-techie say "It's time to pack it in. The technical staff does not have what it takes. Better to cut the losses and live to fight a different battle." That was his response to adversity.
To encourage you, I can tall you that in each of the above examples of adversity, the startup leader got through it with personal victory and the startups kept going. Some had already strong character formed by events that kill people (wars). Others had grown because they found strength and encouragement from a spiritual source and religion. Many sought professional advice (self-help books, in-person coaches and therapists). Family and friends were most often the first line of supportive help. And (it may surprise some of you) so too were people on the board of directors, as well as other employees.
BOTTOM LINE: Before you go further with your startup idea, think about how well you handle adversity. It is going to come to you and your startup. When you can respond well to adversity, you can inspire your entire startup to do the same. Your entire company culture will be strengthened, it will become a powerful element of your unfair competitive advantage.