First post after NaBloPoMo. I have to confess my posting muscles are back in shape though I won’t be posting on a daily basis anymore I will try and keep up with at least one post per week so I don’t run out of ideas. This week I’ll like to continue with a post sharing my experience starting a business, so far I’ve shared about the fear of starting and the feelings of almost failing, today I’ll like to share the experience of having an advisor or partner that is really the douche bag on board.
Every startup has had a douche bag on board at some point. What are the main characteristics of this douche bag (or person for that matter).
- A glorified consultant (of the bad kind): Those business consultants that are really used to working with already running big companies and just want money. They know all the things that won’t work and they also tell you that because you’re either a young entrepreneur or a young company you won’t be able to achieve anything. This comes because of the job they have. In consulting if you’re not old or ‘experiences’ people won’t call you and hire you, this makes consultants think that this applies just to every part of life
- I know it all guy: This could also be the consultant. This guy is the one that knows a lot more than you, but isn’t able to question his knowledge to see what you want to do. This people are really key in a startup because they provide with expertise in various areas, but they can turn into the enemy inside if they can’t see that your product is trying to revolutionize a field or area, or if you choose not to use certain tools they use because your business measurements will be done in a different way. You can hear the classic recommendation from him ‘Do it because everybody else is doing it’ or ‘Do it because that’s how it’s done by the big guys’.
- The Playful Genius: This is probably the most common among young entrepreneur startups. People mature at different speed rates and when you start a company in your late teens or early twenties it’s likely some of your partners will suffer the delayed childhood syndrome or even worse the delayed teenager syndrome. Don’t get me wrong having fun awesome and I love to have fun, the problem comes when you stop doing work in order to have fun. This guy will always be playing and will probably be one of the most smart people in the startup. The problem is that he doesn’t do his work or it’s always late with his work and to meetings.
- The non-believer: This is probably the worse to have on board. He is really smart in what he does, most of the time finances or technology but he is not passionate about the product or the startup. He is there probably because he sees some good money in his future or because ha had nothing ‘better’ to do. In his mind he is doing you a favor and you should be thankful. That person will always come with alternative ideas to your business model, mainly because he can’t see how the current model will bring his money fast.
Having this people isn’t always 100% bad, the problem is when they’re out of control. When you start a business you need to be very careful when you pick partners and advisors because you may come across people like the ones described before. Though the descriptions above are exaggerated this people exist and will be around when you decide to start your own venture. The process of finding a partner should start by identifying if the person is passionate about the product or at least likes it and sees future in it. After that you need to look at their personality see if they are capable of working, have fun and keep working. Make sure to bring someone that knows a lot about the industry and has technical knowledge but make sure that he also loves the product or at least make him part of a team where people will concentrate on working and not in criticizing the product without giving any good ideas for it to be better. Finally, don’t bring a consultant in unless you’re the consultant. Don’t bring the classic consultant if you’re going to bring a consultant make sure is someone that knows the starting process and not a glorified consultant that has only done consulting. Consultants may have good things to share if they’re familiar with the starting process of a firm that sells an actual scalable product (for sure many know how to start a consulting firm). The glorified consultant has two bad habits that you don’t want: is addicted to fast money and works with established methodologies. Fast money is not what you look for in a startup you look for good value. Working with established methodologies will make the consultant tell you you can’t do things because he is used to seeing them with the eyes of a already running business or a bigger business. Sometimes consultants have experience developing new ventures inside a big company which is good but also not the best experience as the mindset for those ventures is different.
Be careful of having the douche bag on board and make sure you pick your partners and advisors well. I’ll write more about that in posts to come. So far I can say i have had 2 douche bags on board, gladly they changed (and know I’m posting this) or they have left. People are the key in a startup pick them well and make sure you’re the right person too.
One last thought. We are not the best person for a startup when we start the only two requirements are willing to work your arse off and love and passion for what you’re doing, after that we will become the right person for our startup, knowing where we belong and in what areas we need more help.
