Monday, April 8, 2013
I am a first time CEO. Over the course of the last five months I have had the privilege of talking to numerous founder and CEOs about their experiences and invariably receive advice whether I ask for it or not. This is great, it is an amazing part of the entrepreneurial community that is always willing to give back and help those just starting out. The challenge is trying to actually learn something from these stories and find a way to apply the advice once it is given.
Each person I have spoken with has had a fascinating story. I have received advice on product, fundraising, hiring, market strategy, location, equity split, board dynamics, and so much more. The advice has ranged from somewhat complimentary to straight up contradicting and it is impossible to say which advice is more correct. Every person is pulling from their unique experience with their unique startup in their unique industry with their unique team at a specific unique time.
For a while I attempted to pattern match advice by going over the notes I took when talking to entrepreneurs. This never felt quite right because I tried to put them in my shoes and make adjustments for our market, our team, our product and the current landscape. It was impossible. I found myself frustrated and annoyed that I could not figure out a way to leverage this information to become a better entrepreneur.
Eventually I realized the specific advice was not the takeaway, the value was in the path to the final decision. The thought process, the key decisions points are the applicable skeleton that entrepreneurs can build from. I quickly learned how ask for that knowledge and it was as simple as following up “what would you do if you were in my position,” with “why would you do that?”
Asking “why” has given me a chance to understand how other entrepreneurs view my situation, my team, my product, and my market. I will probably never follow any specific advice at first, but will certainly follow the path that other entrepreneurs have laid out and see if I make it to the same conclusions. In the end it is that perspective that I have found to be most valuable.