The Circle Line

How to survive the first 5 years of #startup life…. LEARNING #4: Relationships relationships relationships. Work is relationships. And relationships are work. As a #founder in particular, leading a volatile little entity, relationships are pretty much everything. They govern your recruitment, team dynamics, team performance, your network, finding and keeping clients, working well with suppliers. Without strong functioning relationships a business will have none of these. 85% of job success is down to soft skills (Harvard, Carnegie, Stanford study of engineers - a highly technical-skill profession). Relationships are hard work. So your relationship skills are worth working on. How do you work on yours? #leadership #entrepreneur #businessmindset (P.S. My full set of learnings in brief: LEARNING #1: It’s the work that matters. LEARNING #2: There is no ONE way. LEARNING #3: Know yourself. LEARNING #4: Relationships, relationships, relationships. LEARNING #5: Keep it real.)

Next instalment of my 5th birthday musings on what I've learnt on my founder journey... LEARNING 2: There is no ONE way. Yet often people tell you to do it their way. “What you should do is…” “What every business needs is…” “If I were you I’d…” Thing is, you’re not me. Every business is different operating at a different time. Your team, product, context, chosen market, timing etc will always be unique. Even if an investor doesn’t see your offer as “differentiated” enough, your exact way is still unique. (may just need communicating more clearly).  New businesses succeed in many different ways, to different timescales with different versions of success. Be a founder YOUR way. Other founders - what have you learnt? #startuplife #founder #leadership 

We’re turning 5! We're now officially one of the 23% of startups (Beauhurst stat) who survive the first 5 years. It’s interesting being 5. We’re not a newborn, nor a toddler. Just started proper school. Mind of our own, choose our own clothes at weekends, looking at the big kids for inspiration. Fully articulate yet still expanding our vocab. A special thank you to all who’ve helped me along the way of #startuplife - my first shipmates for their faith, my biz partner William Barnard for his grit & dedication, The AA for my starter loan, Tom, my NED friend Paul for a great conversation always, the quietly talented GRID LONDON LTD, Tim, Joost Schouten for the inspiration, Lewis Silkin and DAC Beachcroft for their pragmatism, my 80-year-old TA-therapist uncle, and many others, most importantly my own psychotherapists David and Natasha, without whom we might not be here at all. 💚 How have your 5 years been? For many #startups the 5-year mark is a mega milestone. The VC-backed would be looking at series B/C - or an exit. Not us. So far we’ve been closed to investment, choosing for better or worse the organic, full-autonomy route whilst making our mistakes, finding our feet and the markets we’re most suited to. I also want us to be employee-owned, which poses challenges with investors. So what have I learnt so far? LEARNING 1: It’s the work that matters. I don’t do what I do for the money. Of course we need money, but it’s not what really matters. I believe in my work, I try to live it, I think it's what makes us good. The work in itself gets me going; when I come alive I go with it - that happens again and again, so it perpetually fuels my business. It’s what makes me stick with the ups and downs. And it certainly makes life 10x more interesting. As Howard Thurman, mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., said: "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it." LEARNING 2: There is no ONE way. LEARNING 3: Know yourself. LEARNING 4: Relationships, relationships, relationships. LEARNING 5: Keep it real. (I’ll explain more next week!). To fellow #founders - what are your top 5 learnings? If you’d like to be amongst a community of founders on a path of personal and company growth - join us! To celebrate our 5th birthday we’re opening our doors to “consumers”. People who want to grow in who they are, how they lead, and to define their own version of success. Watch this space!

I still remember every one of my performance appraisals as a trainee lawyer. How come? Why have they stuck with me for 20 years? Because I was a keeno trainee whose self-worth hung on achievement. Because clear positive recognition didn't happen often in my life. Because I was insecure and took others' opinions of me to heart. Because I was very hard on myself back then. Because I loved the partner and senior associate I trained with in the seat where I saw my future (litigation) and wanted their validation - which they gave me as soon as we sat down to go through the form... > "Firstly Pip", my supervising lawyer said, "You know we love you". (And then dug into my distinctly average drafting skills. 🙂 ) 💫 We don't forget when we're recognised for who we are and what we bring. Do you do this with your team? #leadership #businesspsychology #law