Resurfacing
Any new start-up, venture backed or not requires substantial Founder attention often to the detriment of other equal if not more important activities.
Family, Friends, Professional Associations. You get it.
Plainly written – when you start a start-up – you ought to, should, must focus on the start-up and let other commitments “back-burner” by for a while.
I did this.
Prior to Oxlo, I founded a local organization that my co-founders and I called the CDG or Colorado Director’s Guild. This was a group of board members – or directors – who agreed to meet regularly with a purpose of being professional about Corporate Governance. We agreed after some time to transition as a group to become the local chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors contributing some 200 members at the time we “joined” the organization.
I did this because I think Corporate Governance and the skill-set of a Board member (and therefore the “Board” as a whole) is a critical ingredient to any business success.
But when I started Oxlo – I consciously let my involvement in the CDG/NACD efforts wane. I felt an obligation to Oxlo and my investors to concentrate most – if not all – of my attention to the new company.
I tried – hopefully – to maintain Family in the “don’t neglect” bucket. Karen, my wife, recently shared that I’ve done this pretty successfully this start-up. So far anyway.
In the pursuit of professional progression a start-up sidetracks. This is right. And good. Because success of the primary venture is critical and well – you can only do so much at once. And if your pursuit is excellence (and it should be) then success of the venture in hand is more important then the “two in the bush”. This is like checking your email while driving a night snow-covered road. Let the email wait and concentrate on the driving.
At some point in the venture though – if is built well in terms of team and other fundamentals – it is right that professional progression (or “outside” activities) be higher prioritized.
And so – over time – once a start-up is “on its feet” so to speak, other actions and commitments can come back “onto the plate”. When this is exactly is different for every start-up I imagine. And I don’t think there’s any set rule but I do know that resurfacing is a common milestone in any start-up, venture backed or not!
