Most of you who visit my blog are either entrepreneurs or are interested in being part of the startup ecosystem. With this blog post, what I have tried to share is a philosophy that, I believe, differentiates start-ups from one another in a long run.
Every start-up team today starts with a business plan - company vision, mission, problem, solution, revenue projections and how the team plans to tap in the market opportunity. In most of the cases, the business plan changes a lot as startup proceeds and meets the real world. A lot of valuable inputs come from the side of customers, investors and advisors.
Startups face lot of challenges everyday and most of the bandwidth of the management team is taken up in solving these issues. Important tasks, like product roll-out strategy, investor relations, marketing & sales strategy, become the focus of the team. What gets lost in the middle of all these tasks is the vision of the company... the team becomes result oriented, starts focusing on revenues and new business laterals than ensuring that the decisions being taken are in synergy with the vision and philosophy of the company.
At times, when the startup is money crunched, the management team takes detours or takes up tasks which have nothing to do with the vision of the company. Though nothing is wrong in taking the detours while the startup is money crunched, but it is extremely important that the management team gives a serious thought to the problem. At times like these, a quick help can come from the panel of advisors and mentors.
A visionary start-up would know the value of a good advisor panel who could help the management team in preserving the vision of the company. A good mentor ensures that the bigger picture of the company is preserved during tough times. But only being visionary doesn't help in protecting the company vision, it also requires lot of strength and character, as at times, the team needs to fight against challenges of real world like saying 'No' to quick money or project that doesn't gel with the company philosophy. I guess that's where the character of a start-up team is tested.
I believe that a start-up is only as good as its team and advisors, and the team can only progress towards excellence if the team is clear about the vision of the company. While there are many factors which make a company successful in a long run, I believe having a clear company vision and preserving it can move a start-up from the list of good start-ups to the list of excellent start-ups.
This blog is written and owned by Saurabh Gupta
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Are you currently going through one of these phases? The reason why I am asking is, because I want to understand the dilemma which resulted in you writing this post. And if you are going through such a phase, whats you approach of handling the situation. Sure, discussing the situation amongst founding team is one of the immediate action, but what principle do you follow to take you out of such situations?
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Akash
Well made point, Sau! However, I was wondering if you could give a concrete example. What kind of project helps make a quick buck, but is not in sync with the company vision?
ReplyDeleteCheers,
RD!
@Akash: This blog post came out of mere observation of start-ups and no personal experience. Though we have been through similar situations and luckily my core team always think in a similar way, but we all get attracted to one offer or the other. The idea remains whether the offer is in synergy with the company vision or not. A company without a vision is no company to me.
ReplyDeleteWe all are posed by these type of questions every day and the key to handle these times is to discuss out the alternatives, to reach out to mentors and advisors. If nothing happens within a set time frame, then there is either something wrong with the idea or people. Either case, the best way is to remain focussed and split the time between alternative services and core product.
@RD: Like my company is approached by a company in a different sector to set up their operations in India. Now, I can take up this task and make quick buck but it will not help my logistics company. Is there a synergy? What I would do instead is I would look for an appropriate guy for him who could help him do that...