The Olympics are almost upon us, and I’m sure there are about to be a ton of cliched articles and blog posts about how the Olympic Athletes can teach venture capitalists and startup CEOs lessons about achieving big/taking risks/going for gold, etc. But, there is another highly motivating athletic contest going on right now - and it’s a lot cooler than the Olympics. I’m talking about the X Games, and in particular the Skateboarding Big Air Challenge. This skating event starts with a 70 jump, and gets hairy from there… The key lesson I took away from this event was that you’re more likely to push yourself when you surround yourself with peers who are doing the same (my other takeaway was that these guys are are totally nuts). Most of the startup CEOs and founders I know who are pushing the boundries of innovation aren’t operating in a vacuum. Instead, they spend lots of time with other founders and collectively push themselves. While I’m sure some of them could do it alone, why would you? Being a CEO of a startup is lonely enough; find peers who can keep you going strong.
I doubt any of the X Games contestants would pull the caliber of tricks they do if it weren’t for the fact that they are constantly spending time with each other. Seeing the other skaters’ tricks leads them to think of new moves to invent. They also know how hard each of the other skaters worked to develop their skills, and thus know how much effort they need to bring to the table to prepare for and compete in these events. When one of the top skaters, Danny Way, took several hard falls but kept coming back for more he inspired the others to go for broke. The eventual winner, Bob Burnquist, pulled an amazing trick (an ollie 180 into an Indy 360 - landed backwards!) to win. When asked afterwards how he had the guts to try such an insane landing, he said “Every time Danny slammed, it was like, how can someone slam that many times and get back up? I skate with him all the time and I have seen him go down and he’s got this mind that is unparalleled, and I get inspired by it.” Here is a video of the medal winning runs, and also Danny Way’s insane falls (keep in mind these guys are jumping a 70 foot gap. *the video has been loading a bit slowly; it’s worth the wait*):
Startup CEOs should try to find their own peer groups of like minded founders. I’d suggest at least three types of peers:
1) Founders within your new company. Late nights and cold pizza can be tough, so the people you work with should share your passion and vision. You should pick your co-founders just as carefully as you picked your parents…
2) An advisory board of accomplished executives and founders who can provide high level guidance and emotional support. A little bit of “been there, done that,” goes a long way. This is such an important topic I imagine I’ll write a post about it eventually.
3) People starting other companies in your general space. Not only can these connections help you find service providers who you might need, but they are likely going through the same emotional roller coaster as you are. Plus, as some of them hit real business milestones you can collectively celebrate; hopefully this motivates you to hit your own goals.
Venture investors can help, but a founder really should rely on him or herself to find these peers. Plus, venture investors judge founders by the friends they keep and the people they are able to attract to their companies. Remember to pull yourself away from the office/garage occasionally and put the time into developing a solid peer group - you’ll eventually appreciate it!
