Startups The emotional spectrum

TechPeaks, Tento 2014 Andy Parsons @andyparsons

This talk

TECHPEAKS 2014

A c t u a l S u c c e s sA p p a r e n t S u c c e s s

R e a l i t yS t a r t i n g

Startup press glorifies SACRIFICE and DRAMA.!

But the truth is building a company is a journey full of exhilaration and pain. LET’S TALK ABOUT THAT.!

WHAT ARE THE DRIVERS OF STARTUP EMOTION?

F a i l u r e

Me. • startup junkie. masochist. EE/music • co-founder/CTO Happify, CTO new ed tech stealth • founded/sold shrty • CTO Outside.in (acq. aol), bookish (acq. zola), DRR ... • MENTOR @ seedcamp, 500 Startups • ADVISOR to many NYC early stage teams • pragmatist

not Me.

• “STRATEGIST” (lessons learned are mine) • billionaire (still working hard) • IDEALIST

what is “success?”

• milestone success

• terminal success

• coping success

TECHPEAKS 2014

EMOTIONAL spectrum

and: anger, boredom, fatigue, elation, depression, peace, shame, paranoia …

‣ savor ‣ thank ‣ aspire ‣ give ‣ empathize

Happiness skills

‣ have collected a lot

‣ all firsthand / secondhand

‣ patterns are hundreds of years old, but…

everything happens faster now!

stories

THE ups

‣ incorporating ‣ first launch ‣ key meeting goes well ‣ first user ‣ first revenue ‣ key hire ‣ funding ‣ hitting kpi milestone

celebrate these!

THE downs

hiring/firing/team management

• making a great hire… or so you thought • no good time for people to leave • firing friends • anxiety • mutiny

‣ must be better ‣ envy - enemy of happiness

COMPETITION

your health

• things that are healthy, ironically, are the first to go

• fatigue: mental and physical

‣ investors pass

‣ press may not cover you

‣ feedback: know their backgrounds and viewpoint

‣ don’t doubt based on one or 2 meetings

‣ down rounds and no follow-on

funding and press

founder relationships

• shit happens

• personalities emerge

• empathy

‣ servers crash

‣ customers get mad. or just leave.

‣ founder true colors show

screw ups

network, social capital

• nothing is more important!

‣ Runway

‣ the fundraising treadmill

‣ limited burn vs hibernation mode

‣ lights out

cash and operating

decision making and boards

• decision paralysis • consensus • misaligned board members

‣ responsibility of spending investor money

‣ co-founders

‣ market/customer

‣ imposter syndrome

‣ what am i doing with my life?

doubt

CLosing thoughts

‣ in matters of integrity ‣ in the absence of data

Trusting your gut

the path of least resistance

‣ savor ‣ thank ‣ aspire ‣ give ‣ empathize

Happiness skills

‣ do it every day ‣ counteracts natural tendencies ‣ Works!

3 Good things

contact me:

andyparsons@gmail.com @andyparsons

thank you!