Written by Greg Rublev, a dedicated web products geek and the founder of LeanWagon, a startup helping connect health seekers with expert health coaches.
As a typical startup founder I am often faced with difficult situations. Well, “often” is probably an understatement. ”Always” is more like it. As Steve Blank said in his Customer Development Manifesto:
Startups Demand Comfort with Chaos and Uncertainty
Making dozens of decisions in the absence of good (or any) information, and constantly operating outside of your comfort zone is, well, not comfortable. And it can be discouraging. I recently met with a CEO of a funded company that is far ahead of where my startup, LeanWagon, currently is, and after an awesome 30 minute discussion where he provided great insights and advice, for a brief moment I saw how uncertain and troubled he actually is – and then he said “we are doing the same stuff you are, just burning a ton more money”. Wow. As my co-founder Dean Hantzis likes to say: mind=blown.
So, I thought I would share a few videos with all startup founders that can use a little inspiration to keep moving ahead and make progress quickly.
1. If you think what you are doing is hard – you are doing the right stuff.
2. If you are trying to change a market stuck in its old ways – it might just be ready for change and is waiting for the right spark.
3. In danger of crashing? Gain more speed!
4. If you wrong someone you care about – apologize. Quickly. Emphatically.
5. Family members ask you: “why don’t you get a real job”. See if you can spot them in this clip.
Bonus: Not sure about a new hire? Remember Phil Libin’s most important rule
If you are doing a startup, the key is to move quickly. If you are down – pick it up and keep going. Not because you will succeed faster, but because you will learn faster. As Steve Blank wrote:
A Startup Is a Temporary Organization Designed to Search for A Repeatable and Scalable Business Model
The faster you move, the faster your search will progress and the faster you’ll find out what works (sometimes) and what doesn’t (most of the time). There is no time to pout, pause or “reflect”. Bring it on!
