A CEO Snapshot survey by RHR International found that over half of CEOs admitted to feeling lonely. Last year, Tim Johns wrote, “Top dogs seem to have it all - power, status, super-salaries and teams of people to do their bidding. But despite the trappings of success, being the boss can be an isolating and friendless experience.”
Now, remove the power, status, super-salary and team of people, and you’re left with the reality for most founders... the outermost fringes of normalcy, where we strive for meteoric change, far away from the status quo and anything resembling incremental.
Starting something is incredibly lonely, probably more so than running a high-profile company. It would be foolish to let you believe otherwise. But the truth is, no amount of success is possible alone. It takes, among other things, and a bit of luck, some combination of mentors, investors, employees, customers, advisors, vendors, partners and advocates. In other words, it takes human, social and financial capital.
The founder’s first dilemma... how does one attract the necessary capital to get her startup off the ground, when all she has is a good idea and dwindling bank account? Quick deviation. As I’ve written before, good ideas are an illusion. There are ideas, and there is execution. Too often when we look back to the origins of success, good execution is confused for a good idea. It doesn’t stop there though, the need for this capital is the founder’s forever dilemma - rock star talent when you can’t afford entry-level rates, a paying customer before the first line of code is written, perspective when you’re ready to walk away. The most important skill for a founder... the ability to get others emotionally invested in your version of the future.
Your reputation allows you to transact in this ‘does not yet exist, but take my word for it’ world. Your currency is what I call Founder Capital. It’s earned by aligning the dreams you’re selling and the realities you deliver. Constantly under promise and over deliver and you’ll find yourself flush with capital. Go read about Marc Lore or Stewart Butterfield if you don’t believe me. Do the opposite, and after a short run on good faith, you’ll crash and burn, never to be heard from again.
And, a word of caution, your stakeholders are a direct reflection of you. They can both contribute to and completely drain the capital you’ve earned. Choose wisely.
A common rule in business, and life for that matter, is to not owe anyone anything. It works a little differently for founders. Your entire being is to convince others to take a leap of faith with you. It never stops. You just need to be as good or better at following through. Your livelihood depends on it.
People will work on a promise. The capital you need... that requires delivery. It’s only lonely until it’s not.