Back on The Rollercoaster: Part 2 The Start-up

We are now in week seven of our adventure and I already have so much to reflect on. What’s top of my mind today is the fact that being in a start-up of 11 people makes you notice and appreciate things that maybe you take for granted when running a business of 150. I’m probably writing this as a note to myself to hopefully not forget the details when we start scaling.

I’ve grouped my thoughts for no particular reason other than this is how my mind works;

Observation 1: So Why You?

In my last post I put into words the dialogue I had with my children when they asked me to describe what we do in the most simplistic way. In reality, I’m having variations on that very conversation everyday.

Until you have created a brand (and even after that) you have to continuously explain why you are different and why someone should choose you for the services or product you offer. As a start-up this is painfully obvious as you need to be able to explain why your process, product, experience, etc means that someone will get more than the long established competitor or the typical way of doing things.

So I’ve been going through this soul searching with the whole team, challenging us to find the words that explain why we love doing what we do. It’s that thing that’s in your head and you know it is right but you struggle to verbalise it.  As this isn’t meant to be a sales pitch I’ve not included our efforts to explain ourselves, instead for those interested see the Rollercoaster Part 2a which is coming soon ……

The thing to note here is that as a Start-up you are made to question what you do and why you do it which you might quite easily forget when you are in an established business. Continuous validation and adjustment to your business can only be a good thing. We profess to believe in customer centricity but are we really placing their needs first? Further to that we have to make sure we understand why we should be chosen over everyone else. The answer as a message needs to be understood by you, everyone who works with you and everyone you want to work with.

Observation 2: Wow I’m blogging!

I have now had the fortune of starting a company with three brilliant people who are friends even more than colleagues. We aren’t the youngest set of founders (we’re not in old peoples home either) which means that we’ve had established roles and ways of working.

We are lucky enough to have been part of successful growing businesses. This means that we are more likely to identify what needs to be done. However, that doesn’t mean we know how to do it. The bigger you get the more defined the role you and everyone else do. In the end there is someone responsible for different things meaning you don’t really need to know how to do whatever it is they do.

Being in a start-up means you have to throw your traditional role in the bin and do what needs to be done. There is something slightly scary about this as apparently the older you get the harder it is to learn (something about old dogs and new tricks I think). There is also something very refreshing about the new adventure you end up facing every day.

Given we are a technology company we have had some brilliantly ignorant conversations between us founders. We have had questions like “what’s the difference between Sharepoint and Onedrive?”, or “what’s the point of twitter?” and we then follow them up with nervous laughter and one of us giving a completely unconvincing answer.

Ultimately one of us takes on the mantle and gets it done. I can guarantee you it isn’t easy and our implementation will be inefficient but there is something great about knowing all the facets of your company with more than superficial knowledge.

I used to think it was great that I talked to everyone in the company about their roles but I definitely now have a deeper understanding of what they say since I have had to figure out what they do. So, it’s something I don’t want to forget and one day I actually might tweet (when I figure out the point of it).

Observation 3: It actually is in the details.

It really is true that the more successful you become the more you take for granted. Everyone reminds you to celebrate your successes but they don’t define what success is.

When you are a start-up you notice all the details and really appreciate all the bits that help put your world together. Everything seems like a little victory. Whether it’s getting a great pitch deck together, us completing what we promised to deliver early or a laptop (that you forgot to order on time) turning up straight away. All of these are recognised and appreciated.

I’m not saying we should uncork a bottle of champagne to celebrate people turning up for work (though the results could be interesting), but it is great to feel the appreciation for the details. It will definitely be hard as we grow to not just celebrate the big things, but I work with a great team who will keep me grounded.

Observation 4: People are Brilliant

This could quite easily turn into a huge list of thankyous, with me crying like Gwyneth Paltrow at the Oscars, but I do want to acknowledge that there are so many people who are trying to help us succeed. The great thing about it is that there is genuine interest from friends, family, colleagues who are taking the time to really understand what we do and then find ways of making it even better.

Apart from the obvious potential sales opportunities, there has been so much more that we have gained. We are definitely stronger because of the support we receive. Whether it is the theory that “as Brits we like the underdog”, or the much more obvious fact that people are genuinely nice, we have felt more likely to win because of our community.

The past two months have reminded me that I’m extremely lucky. As I said I have three good friends who have joined me on an adventure, and the network we are part of is definitely backing us. The one thankyou I do have to note is that as founders we have felt honoured by the team that have joined us. As of today, we have grown significantly this month and are a team of eleven trying to fulfil what we believe. Not only did our team surprise us by asking to join our adventure after a well earned break, they did it with the knowledge and enthusiasm we need given that we are a start-up where there is obviously risk.

I’m really hopeful that it was the belief in what we do that made them ask to join us but I guess that there is a slim chance that it is because we celebrate and open a bottle of champagne every time they make it in to work.