Thoughts on Steve Blank's Do you have what it takes to be a founder?

Do you have what it takes to be a founder? is not only for founders but early and later stage employees. It poses 8 questions that steer us all in a direction of introspection; questions that require honest, and at times, verified answers.

I answered yes to all of the questions, except for the last one: “Are you articulate?” I used to think I was articulate until the people who worked for/with me for three months led me to the realization that I was not articulate. Sigh. We laughed about it - that I somehow expected them to be mind readers, and that it took several rounds of explanations for me to clearly express what I needed them to do (yes I was the butt of their and my own self-deprecating jokes). But that time spent in my miscommunication, did end up affecting my bottom line. I say, lesson learned and you bet that I have worked on that communication skill, diligently, since last April. As for the other questions, I am under no delusion when I say, You betcha! Claro que si! or Hai!

For future employees at the early stage of a startup, Steve gives advice which is also advice for future founders who are doing the hiring. “Early stage employees are ‘self-starters’ and show initiative rather than waiting for other people to tell them what to do or how to do it.” Amen to that!

But I believe that it needs to go a step further, that the “self-starters” and the founder(s) need to have a mental synergy for a startup to work well. Not to be confused with having similar personalities. It is the flow of energies emerging from different employees, from different directions which converge at junctures that are constantly changing; somehow the various energies naturally align into a single energy that propels the startup forward. Just my two cents.

Steve also suggests that employees can modify the 8 questions a bit, which is good. But he points out that the type of personality that would thrive in this environment is resilient, agile, and passionate about the work.

The attributes for the later stage employees are similar to the early stage employees but the chaos is not as intense. Departments begin to form naturally as do job responsibilities. However, at this stage of growth, there is still constant change so later employees also need to be agile and resilient, but the roller coaster is not going through a seemingly endless series of deep dives and steep climbs.

From any angle, the adventure, to me, sounds thrilling and I say let’s have at it!