NO MATTER YOUR EDUCATION,
FOUNDING A COMPANY IS GOING TO SCHOOL YOU. TAKE THESE LESSONS TO HEART BEFORE
YOU GET HIT WITH THE BOOKS.
There are very few new ideas.
Whatever idea you have come up with, someone else is already working on it,
because most ideas and companies emerge from the zeitgeist or the climate of
ideas we live in. And even the "newest" technologies have been
envisioned by artists and writers before they become products and companies. At
present, companies are being built based on concepts imagined by science
fiction writers fifty years ago, sometimes more. 3-D printing and robots are
not new ideas, although each application might be new.
A practical manifestation of
this is the refusal of venture capitalists to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Although inexperienced entrepreneurs think that's because VCs steal ideas, that
isn't the reason. Rather, they don't sign because they see too many similar
ideas and would be violating their NDAs all day long if they signed them. In
addition, VCs are already in a business they presumably like. They have neither
the time nor the inclination to drop what they are already doing for your
untested idea.
For this reason, your
co-founder should be someone you know well, rather than someone you've met at a
Startup Weekend or a networking event. You are going to learn some pretty big
lessons about her as you go through the process; it would help to know in
advance what her goals are, what her track record is, and what her work habits
and ethics are. Companies often flounder because of emergent differences
between partners.
At some point, the interests
of founders often diverge, and a really good relationship will be the only
thing that keeps the company together. Oh, and here's another tidbit: when you
start a company, you run a big risk of losing your real significant other, with
whom you will spend dramatically reduced amounts of time. Marriages are often
sacrificed to the company if the spouses aren't clear on the amount of effort
involved in running a startup.
Most people are risk averse.
They'd rather do nothing--if that feels familiar--than try something new. If
you build it, they won't come, except for a small and passionate group of early
adopters. Those people like to try new things--and many of them will try
anything if they can be first to try it. Those people are a gift from heaven to
you, and you must treat them with the utmost respect. Even if they want to drag
you down a rathole with their suggestions, do not piss them off. They can be
your evangelists. The other side of this coin is that they'll probably move on
to the next shiny object before you have built your market. Because they love
anything new, they will not always stick with you.
That's why everyone doesn't
lose weight, put solar panels on their homes, and track their fitness with an
app. The science of behavior change is new, and we are still not sure what
motivates people to change even dangerous and counterproductive behavior. (Though rituals help--Ed.) Think seat belts, which
took generations to take hold. You almost have to wait for the old guard to die
off and hope they've taught their kids to do what they won't.
Often it takes a real scare
to change behavior; some people quit smoking after the heart attack, but others
do not. You still see people on the street pulling oxygen tanks behind them and
lighting up a cigarette. If you are doing something that involves making people
change habits, be prepared for a slow uptake, even though potential customers
will admit they need a change. Take electronic medical records, for example.
They've been around for more than twenty years, but until President Obama paid
physicians to implement them and threatened to stop paying them if they didn't,
the percentage of physicians who went electronic was only about 8 percent. And
that is despite the fact that doctors knew they were paying rent to store rooms
full of paper
records that could be transferred to the cloud.
When you start to add people
beyond the founding team, there's always a big shock. Employees are not
motivated by what motivates you. They have their own goals. Sometimes those
goals align with yours (helping bring pure water to villages in Africa), but
sometimes they don't. Most people who prefer to be employees need structure and
motivation. You will have to figure out what motivates them. Sometimes it's
money, but not always. Often the motivators can include working from home,
flexible hours, long vacations, reimbursement for education, or even being able
to bring a dog to work. Don't get angry at them for wanting a life.
Start with these five
lessons. When you’ve got them memorized, come back to me. Then I’ll talk about
the money.
This is a repost of an article that appeared on http://www.fastcompany.com
on June 24, 2013
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