Hmmm…it depends on how one sees failure because I think that’s about the best thing that can ever happen to anyone. What else makes up the success story?
So please fail and get a hug. If you fail again, get more hugs or rather pat yourself at the back. That in itself is a success.
Your failure is the only way to your success, as it opens your eyes to process flow and even so many things your potential superman will not see plus it makes you stronger and stronger, and less dependent on people.
Nobody likes to hold hand. So, be strong, only ask when you really need to ask, and people will respect you for your hard work and 'small ’ result.
That’s just a bad advice right there. Definitely not encouraging. Like I said we don’t have the luxury of anything especially finance to spend on a startup with the expectation of failure. I don’t expect failure but I know I can’t fail, there’s a difference.
The concept of failure, strengthens your resolute to succeed. The idea behind a startup, is usually this large field of untapped opportunities, you definitely won’t be doing it to fail but to try and succeed with the sole intention that no matter what you will be fine ( and this no matter what partly means you are willing to learn alot including not getting it right at first for everything you do) you will never really start until you are willing to fail with the intention to win.
Win the war but be willing be lose and win the battle.
People management, finance, sales, marketing, workflow,
Nice point mehn. Many of these guys like to know that you have done your basics. Just like at Stackoverflow, they don’t like being bothered with something you can and should do by yourself.
I also find it amusing when people compare out local big shots with Ben Horowitz and Marc Anderssen. Many of our guys here are hands-on CEOs, battling to keep their startups alive in this our unfavourable weather. Our ecosystem is still immature. It’s tough to build anything of note here, it’s even tougher to maintain it. So it’s not like they are sailing around in their yatches, leaving us here to suffer.
Simple test, how many of them spend as much time on twitter as Marc? I only see Paga boss @oviosu when Chelsea is playing (loosing). @iaboyeji is a bit more frequent, and very very approachable. The rest are slugging it out. It will be wise to respect their hustle and their time.
This is such an important point.
As someone who has been on both sides of this common equation I really want to urge some empathy.
I’m still learning a lot to deal with the hosepipe of comms I have had with Andela since our last raise. I’ve literally had an explosion of people trying to contact me for help and advice. It gets very overwhelming very quickly.
If I responded to all of them I would literally do nothing else. So it is a balancing act to determine who to help and who to ignore (because I can’t help everyone). Also now very important people take what I say seriously so I need to be even more careful with referrals so people don’t think I’m a waste of time. If people start to think that It will hamper my ability to be helpful to others.
So given the above a few things about the way our community reaches out for help rankles me:
Email is better than Facebook message. The trouble with Facebook messages is that especially if you are like me with thousands of friends, your serious ask for your business is mixed with messages from people I know, don’t know asking for money, bantering, etc! My email on the other hand is my to-do list. I literally live inside my email. So where would you rather I treat your business concern? As a task in my todo list or as banter on Facebook? If you feel insulted by that then you have bigger problems.
Help me to help you.
I have 24 hours in a day just like you. As the company grows demands on my time increase. It is so helpful to have thoughtful founders reach out and make it easy to help them. For example if you want me to do an intro, write the text for me so I just copy and paste it. If you want to pitch your company, send me a deck. Agree to phone meetings and skype meetings instead of in person meetings or even email conversations. all these things are helpful. It all comes from a place of empathy. We need to empathize with each other more.
The faster you get straight to the point the better. Why? That way I know if I can help you or not. It’s better for you and for me. Don’t waste my time. Do your homework so you know what I can do and what I can’t do. I probably don’t have time to “chat” and I don’t “mentor” people. I just answer questions and if I can make intros.
Sometimes I actually try to help people and it just doesn’t work out. It’s not my fault. It is just what it is. If I could force the person I introduced you to to invest I would but it’s their money not mine. All I can do is refer and recommend. Don’t be bitter to me about that.
There is one big hack to getting to the top of my inbox. And I find this is the same with literally every busy person I know. Offer me something, information, ideas, etc and automatically, they make time for you because it is a symbiotic relationship. A lot of us just ask and ask and ask without giving anything believing there is nothing we can do for the “big man” and its so not true. For example, I value market information over anything and I often meet with people to just learn. I also value people who help me spread the word about Andela (apply.andela.com) and I spend time with those folks because I see them not as people seeking favors but as part of my network.
End of the day, the key to this thing is empathy. As for me, I’ll never be the kind of founder who will drive a range rover or live on the island. I’m literally a walking, breathing, living part of the ecosystem and I enjoy the serendipitous actions that happen when I bump into people at cchub or e-centre. However, there are limits on time because I only have 24 hours and a big job to do.
One thing I want to do more is blog so I can scale my advice since I can’t meet with everyone. So hopefully I can DRY (don’t repeat myself) if I blog about the most common questions or situations I get from founders. If someone has any ideas on how to scale intros, would be nice too. (I think twitter is one way).
Finally my brother get rid of the permission mindset. You don’t need anybody’s help to build something people love. Trust me. I used to think like that until it was time to build Andela and I didn’t get that much help from all your usual suspects. A few people were helpful to me and I made the most of their generosity but none of the big guns even knew what I was up to until we had achieved some scale. So you really don’t need any cabal.
This is really good and I especially like how you went detailed.
Talking of details, you should definitely blog! Matter of fact, your ‘reply’ is already 50% of a blog post tackling this topic. And minus saving yourself having to DRY, the ecosystem will definitely benefit. Immensely.
One point which you made and I think it’s worth stressing is that there’s no need for ‘permission’. And Inthink it works both ways. This is crucial IMO as we’re still on the 1st wave/generation of tech innovation and hence companies in Nigeria. Eg we’ve not even had nationwide internet coverage. So anyone that ‘owns’ 100% of any ‘market’ right now, probably has less than 1% of the potential ‘market’. Why does anybody need permission from that guy?
I think understanding this makes it easier for everyone concerned.
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
@iaboyeji has spelt it all out.
As a Mentor at Mara Foundation mentoring over 95,000 mentees around the world, it is sometimes overwhelming for me with mentees reaching out to me everyday via all available channels. In the long run, I don’t see myself as someone who teaches, but someone who inspires a student to give his/her best in order to discover what he/she already knows.
What I’ve found out about folks trying to reach-out to you is that there are some folks that’ll bug you with unneccesary questions and schemes until you’re blue in the face–they’re never going to get it and they’re never going to change. But every once in a while, you’ll run into someone who is eager to listen, eager to learn, and willing to try new things. Those are the people I’m always happy to engage with.
I am presently on bith sides of the coin. I sometimes email or chat-up top shots every now and then and sometimes don’t get replies or acknowledgement of receipt. And even when one confirms the receipient has received and read your email/chat, they don’t reply. This has not in anyway affected my relationships with folks I mentor/train.
Atmost, I simply reply that I don’t have interest in the offer, or tell that I can’t be of assistance. It’s in Nigeria(mostly) that I see top shots forming LABAC
There is no such thing as CABAL, outside TechCabal/Radar. It’s just a character.