Startups can be easy (with the right team).
In the first part of this article (here), I tried to point out how being part of a startup seems to give your work a new meaning; the sense of ownership seems more real, and the pursuit of excellence seems to have more of a direct impact. That doesn’t mean staying motivated is easy, there aren’t things that are tough or that you will always know exactly which tasks are the most important, but in a startup it is often much easier to understand the “why” behind what you are doing, and see the difference your efforts make. (As an aside, I can highly recommend Optimal Work or the podcast The Golden Hour if you need help focusing or getting down to work).
The short feedback loop and having a very clear “why” (the why could be anything from financial success to changing people's lives) are part of the winning formula that leads so many startups to disrupt much bigger businesses with very deep pockets. I believe that is only a part of what makes a startup or any business for that matter succeed or fail - I think a much bigger part of it is: your team.
At Fluss, I can proudly say that we have an incredible team, one that I look forward to working with every day, and I’m comfortable facing the challenges that crop up while we are working together. They really are awesome.
If you read any book on business success or startup they will tell you that you need to surround yourself with the best people, and make sure you are always acquiring the best talent. I don’t think anyone would disagree with that, but as a startup you usually don’t have the kind of budget for that talent, and even if you did, the best people aren’t sitting around waiting for your phone-call to join your risky startup.
Jack Ma (co-founder of Alibaba), had an interesting perspective (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/19/jack-ma-on-hiring-traits-he-looks-for-in-alibaba-job-candidates.html): “There are no best people. The best people are always in your company, you train them to become best.” While I think there is some truth in that, there are some basics that need to be in place, namely the team needs to be on board with the culture, the vision and values of the company, and they need to be optimistic.
Beyond those basics, I think there are a few other qualities to look for. In his 2005 essay “How to start a startup”, Paul Graham said you should hire people you describe as “animals”, a quality that is hard to put your finger on, with skills that vary depending on what their role is. In the lingo I use with my friends, we would describe that person as “a machine”. Not as in a robot or a workaholic or someone without personality - but someone who takes ownership of what they do, has a lot of fortitude and strives to continuously improve. I don’t think anyone is born that way, or just happens to be that way out of chance, but rather it is a deliberate decision and takes some effort, and I think as a team, especially in a startup, you can help each other with this.
The key factors to getting that right, I believe, are to build a company culture in which each team member:
Understands the purpose of their work and importance behind the role they play, and how important it is to the team
Pursues excellence - continuously trying to improve, especially in the small details (James Clear’s Atomic Habits is an excellent book on the compounding effects of small improvements.)
Has the ability to learn from mistakes (and not being afraid to make them in the first place), and to learn from others.
I would even go so far as suggesting that these concepts form part of the values of the company, and that they should be revisited often. At Fluss, thanks to the great foresight of Ockie, these have become central to all that we do and the main reason why the team that we have is so great to work with.