The mental image most of us have of a successful entrepreneur is Steve Jobs – an eccentric who was deeply passionate about what he cared about; and extremely idiosyncratic. He was able to do things which everyone else thought was impossible and we have started believing that these are the mystical ingredients which every founder needs.
It’s true that talking to charismatic founders can give you a high. They’re very charming and persuasive. They are great salesmen and can get you buy to into their dream.
However, over time, I’ve actually come to respect the thoughtful, mature founder a lot more. I think charisma is all very good, but it’s neither necessary nor sufficient to running a successful startup (my definition of a successful company is one which continues to grow profitably).
We lose sight of that fact that Steve Jobs surrounded himself with lots of people who were capable of implementing his dreams because they were far more mature than he was. One of the reasons for his success was that he was insightful enough to understand what his limitations were. Rather than trying to be a one-man show, he surrounded himself with team members who had complementary skill sets, so that together they could do what neither of them could accomplish alone.
A mature founder is someone who can withstand a funding winter without losing his cool. He can keep his team together by helping them to focus on what’s important so that they don’t lose faith while riding the emotional ups and downs which characterise a startup’s rocky journey. He needs to remain grounded so that he does not get carried away by unrealistic dreams.
Typically, a lot of the founders who grab all the media attention are great only at selling the sizzle. Their major focus is on valuation and they compete to see how much money they can raise. They get a high by winning competitions; giving keynote speeches and being featured in the press. These are the strokes which their ego requires.
A mature founder is not flashy, and he doesn’t care much about publicity, because he is too busy building his company, one brick at a time. He would rather get his hands dirty leading from the front, rather than bask in media attention.
He understands the difference between good growth and bad growth – so that he’s not focussing on chasing revenue for the sake of inflating his topline. His focus is not on monetisation because he is mature enough to understand that the money will follow as long as he focuses on delighting his customers. He doesn’t get carried away by what other founders are doing and refuses to dance to the VC’s tune of loss-making growth.
He has a clear set of priorities, and he’s mature enough to stick to them through good times as well as bad because he wants to build a company which will last, not a house of cards which will collapse once funding dries up.
Because he’s reliable and trustworthy, he earns the respect of everyone in the ecosystem. His investors look up to him because they understand that he has a long-term perspective and will not get carried away by the flavour of the month. His team members admire
His team members admire him because they know that he will stand up for them through thick and thin. His customers trust his word because he’s not a manic depressive who has good days and bad days. He understands the importance of following up on a promise and is willing to get his hands dirty in order to make sure that the company succeeds.
These are the dull and boring characteristics which I look for in a founder these days, rather than wait for someone to blow me away. While it’s nice to get swept off your feet by a passionate founder, sometimes it’s better to admire these charismatic personalities from afar. While it’s not very sexy and exciting to do the daily grind, their chances of succeeding are far better, because they create a robust and healthy company culture by setting a great example for everyone.
[This post by Dr. Aniruddha Malpani first appeared on LinkedIn and has been reproduced with permission.]
