Founders commit mistakes—a lot of mistakes. Building anything is incredibly hard, tiring, stressful, and confusing. The information world is full of advice for Founders on what they should do to be “successful” (whatever that even means, although the default assumption is that the end goal is financial success).
The problem I have with the “quick Google Search on how to do something” advice is that it is generic (by definition) and applicative (do this, do that). Here, I want to do things differently by reflecting on my experience as a Founder for the past 6 years (an experience elevated by the numerous conversations with fellow Founders, Entrepreneurs and Investors. My objective (and challenge) is to develop the Founder’s 10 Commandments. This is a list of ideally timeless, foundational principles that should be valuable to any Founder, anywhere, and can serve as “moral” guidelines. More specifically, I want to derive something that can satisfy three conditions:
- Foundation vs. Application: Commandments, like the Biblical ones1, provide foundational principles. They should be timeless and adaptable across various situations, working as guiding principles. In contrast, typical startup advice often focuses on specific actions or strategies (e.g., “improve SEO,” “enhance customer engagement”), which are more about practicality, application and are often reactive to immediate needs. Commandments go deep, startup advice is superficial.
- Long-term Orientation vs. Short-term Gains: Commandments encourage thinking about the long-term impact of decisions. They should promote ethical practices, perseverance, and resilience. They should act as a moral compass for the individual and guide towards quality. Conversely, much common advice aims at quick wins or short-term goals.
- Universal vs. Contextual: Commandments are meant to be universally applicable, regardless of industry, market conditions, or business size. In the best case, they should also be valuable across cultures. They provide a framework that can guide founders through various stages of their business. Generic advice must often be tailored to specific contexts and may not be universally applicable or effective.
With these objectives in mind, today, I will present my first draft of the Founder’s Ten Commandments. I do not expect them to be perfect; in fact, I would like to revisit this list regularly, incorporating new ideas and concepts from my and others’ experiences.
- Lead by Example: Model the behaviour and standards you expect, demonstrating commitment, integrity, and diligence in all actions.
- Guard Your Reputation: Preserve your reputation at all costs, for it is more valuable than any financial asset. Once tarnished, it may never be fully restored.
- Be Truthful: Always be truthful with yourself and others. Honesty in all aspects of your business fosters trust and respect.
- Make Decisions Based on Reality: Avoid bending facts to fit your narrative. Ground all decisions in reality, ensuring they are informed by actual conditions and viable data.
- Embrace and Share Ideas: Share your ideas freely and seek relentless feedback. Ideas evolve and improve through interaction and critique. Also, ideas are cheap (execution >> good ideas).
- Decide with Responsibility: Listen widely but decide independently, embracing the full responsibility of leadership. You cannot delegate responsibility for decisions. And never shift blame onto others!
- Seek Discomfort: Make discomfort your ally. Stepping outside your comfort zone fosters growth and resilience. And often, it leads to unexpected positive outcomes (if you never ask, it will not happen).
- Constantly Challenge Assumptions: Always strive to prove yourself wrong as a method to ensure your decisions are sound and not based on faulty assumptions.
- Focus on the Journey: Remember it’s the journey, not the destination, that matters. Learn and grow through the process without getting caught up solely in outcomes.
- Be a beacon of clarity: As a Founder, your foremost task is to offer clarity. To your Team, your backers, your customers.
(Bonus for CEOs) Fundraise Personally: As the CEO, personally engage with investors, forging and nurturing these critical relationships yourself. You shall never (never!) delegate fundraising to someone else. Ensuring your Company has enough money to operate is your ultimate practical responsibility.
(Bonus for any Founder) It is not a popularity contest: Personal recognition and brand building feel like good work, but they usually are not. Don’t get distracted by the showbiz lights; you have a company to nurture!
I will continue revisiting this list knowing well that I am still far from optimality. Yet, these insights have served me well throughout the years and I hope they can be equally useful to all Founders out there who occasionally feel lost in their endeavours.
In the spirit of the commandments, I would love to receive feedback on this list. Do they resonate with you? Can you think of situations where these insights have brought value (or not)? Feel free to comment and contributing your own ideas to future revisions of the list.
Build relentlessly, have fun, embrace failure and let’s aim to the stars, folks.
Thanks to all who contributed with their ideas to this post, Ayla, Rohit, Teik Guan, Meraj and Bonny.
- While I have chosen to frame these principles as “commandments” for their foundational and guiding nature, much like the biblical commandments, this is purely for thematic purposes. This approach is intended to underline the importance and universality of these guidelines in the startup world, rather than to promote religious views. I encourage readers of all beliefs and backgrounds to consider these principles as secular, universally applicable insights into effective leadership and startup management. ↩︎
