Whilst Steve Jobs may not be the archetype we are all aspiring to, there is no contesting the impact he’s had on the world. For those of you unwilling to pick up a book but own any Apple product, I highly recommend you pick up and read the excellent Walter Isaacson Steve Jobs.
I speak to a lot of young founders every week. I’d like to speak to more. People eager to hear about the many mistakes I’ve made, present something special they’re building, share their startup struggles and get objective thoughts. I myself have a great deal of improving and growing to do in our business that overlaps with what I hear from others.
Beneath the hopeful optimism, founders have to grit their teeth through the tough times and still try to lead a team that feed off your energy. The odds are stacked against startups but time and time again, it is startups that prove being fast and doing a lot with a little can ignite entire industries.
Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that nearly 50% of all startups fail within the first five year. Think about that. For every 2 startup founders you meet, 1 is statistically likely to fail after committing a half decade to building.
When you step back and think about it, being a startup founder is riskier than the odds of you winning a game of Russian Roulette. Assuming there are 5 bullets in a loaded chamber of 6, you have a 83.3% chance of surviving and 16.6% chance of losing your life.
It gets better. According to multiple credible sources, First-time small business owners have a success rate of 18%. Business owners who failed in the past have a slightly higher startup success rate of 20%. Business owners who started a successful startup in the past have a business success rate of around 30% when starting a new venture. In the US, some data suggests companies with 11 to 50 employees face a higher risk of failure. 75% of venture-backed companies never return the cash to the investors.
All in all, if you have decided to start your own business and endure, you likely have very similar personality traits with your fellow founders: Extremely risk-seeking + an ability to endure much greater suffering than most.
This leads me back to the late, great Steve Jobs quote in my title: If you want to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader. Sell Ice cream. You see, the main road block I see first-time startup founders experiencing, of the few I’ve spoken to, is that they seek to make everyone happy.
They want their employees to like them. They want their customers to love them. They want social media to approve of them. You’ve already got the odds stacked against you. Now you want everyone to like you too?
This manifests itself in many different ways. When an employee is under-performing or given autonomy and freedom then lets you down, you let it slide. When a customer doesn’t pay their bills on time or treats you poorly, you avoid conflict. When you post on social media and don’t get likes and comments, you feel defeated.
The solution? Here’s a bullet point bible to steer you in the right direction:
- Don’t seek to make everyone happy
- Work on delivering tremendous value to your customers
- Make things happen faster
- Focus so hard on what matters most.
- Seek to be respected not liked
A little personal story time to close this out.. I most recently got a very odd email from a C-level exec we’ve worked with. After our accountant’s attempts to follow up on a payment they owed us, I personally got involved and spoke to most of the company’s C-suite, middle managers and founder. Promises to pay, no date agreed, a vague future promise. So when I opened my inbox to see an email telling me that the terms agreed in our contract would now not be honored and we would need to accommodate these changes but continue to deliver the services agreed, I realized quickly what needed to happen. We had already delivered services, our content creator was chasing us for payment, we’d even arranged third party meetings to help them outside our agreed scope of work.
As a 3x founder and lifelong learner, I am familiar with dealing with people who love to take but rarely like to give. They will dismiss your concerns and expect you to show them concern. I read through the email, drank down my cup of risk and assessed how to proceed. As I grow older, I realize more and more that taking great risks should be paired with understanding how to best manage the downside. Simply put, how can I make sure my losses hurt me less. This almost always means you must choose respect > being liked. Startup founders have a duty to the business they are building and those obligations come first. Don’t let anyone, no matter how big or small, pile on extra risk that can be avoided. Serve yourself first so you can serve others better.
In this situation, I reaffirmed our position and made it clear what I thought of his dismissal of our concerns and expectation that we accommodate his requests to the detriment of our business. Either (A) Pay within an agreed timeframe with a deadline or (B) We walk, take our losses and limit our long-term risk exposure. I sent a firm reply making certain he knew that what was being offered was unacceptable to us, in breach of our agreement and frustrating to spend time on. The matter was swiftly resolved within 24 hours.
Behind the scenes, this C-level exec was angry with my handling of the situation. Whilst he dismissed his obligations to us, he was focused on why my email wasn’t respectful. You’re harming our business by paying late, trying to get us to be paid less than what we’re owed and going against what’s agreed in a contract but you expect to earn my respect?
Fortunately, I do not sell ice cream.
To all those startup founders with similar experiences, know that resect > liked will always win in the long-term. Whilst being liked is a means to reduce your risk, make sure you’re liked by people who show you respect. I am far from perfect, continue to struggle with my own long list of shortcomings and fail frequently but I seek to manage risk better as I grow. I advise you do the same.
PS: Photo is us in Doha with a partner who we respect and admire. Had to balance out the messaging!