Dustin is the founder and CEO of BriteCo, an innovative insurance technology company transforming the retail jewelry insurance experience.
As a startup founder, you need to be prepared for uncertainty. You have to have a flexible mindset and be ready to be agile and pivot. Not everything is going to go the way you want or plan. In fact, a lot is going to go differently than you expect.
Stay Curious
One of the most important characteristics to survive uncertainty is curiosity. Entrepreneurs who are curious have an open mind and are able to pivot and be creative. And when I say creative, I also mean being gritty. You’re going to need to figure out ways to do things on the cheap or differently than other founders. What works for one company may not work for yours. Capital is not always going to flow, so you’ll need to find ways to succeed without it.
Be Persistent
The most successful entrepreneurs are determined and refuse to give up. When something fails or goes wrong, they adjust and find another route. They also know when to say “mercy” when something isn’t working and find a different way to work. Or the big “mercy,” which is when the whole thing isn’t working and it’s time to change the course. Entrepreneurship takes an incredible amount of persistence, particularly when uncertainty is approaching.
I experienced this when I raised capital for my startup, BriteCo. Raising capital is full of uncertainty. It’s also extremely difficult, particularly pre-product and pre-revenue because you’ve prepared material, but you don’t have product, revenue, traction or evidence. For an insurance business, you absolutely need some amount of capital to get a business off the ground. Before we got our partnerships in place, before we even raised the first dollar, it was extremely uncertain. It was very uncertain whether the business idea was good, whether people were going to relate and understand the concept and whether we could sell it without selling it off of a business plan. It was extraordinarily ambiguous.
The way we succeeded, without a doubt, was with persistence. We created a ridiculously robust business plan—and that was our product. That was our tool, and it worked. But it took many conversations with a million different people until it did, as well as a crazy degree of persistence because you hear “no” repeatedly. Then, finally, you get a “yes.” Somebody sees your vision and its potential. You have to hang onto that and have that full-on belief in yourself and your idea.
Be Patient
Surviving uncertainty also requires patience. Patience is hugely important in a startup business because everything takes longer to do and figure out. New entrepreneurs go into it thinking it’s going to be easy, that in a year things will be good. But if you’re really going to succeed, you need to be prepared for a five-to-10-year slog. You have to be patient and willing to ride things out. Raising capital for BriteCo took time. The average capital raise can take months or even years. Finding the right talent, acquiring customers and generating revenue all take time. You have to be prepared for the long haul.
Take The Risk
Startups that make it through uncertainty are also able to handle and endure risk. This is really important. There has to be a part of you that will just say “screw it” because you’re never going to completely de-risk. A lot of people want to try to de-risk everything. They want to say, “I’m only going to do this when we have A, B, C.” Or their idea is perceived as risk-free. It’s never risk-free. It’s always risky. You can do some smart things and validate some things, but you’re never going to totally de-risk your business. You’ll never completely mitigate uncertainty. At some point, you have to just jump off the cliff.
Build Your Network
Last, network and talk to people. A good network can be an enormous help when you’re facing a period of uncertainty. You’ll have more options, resources and places to turn. Constantly meet and connect with people in your industry. Build and maintain those relationships. It will expand your ability to succeed no matter what is thrown at you.
Final Thoughts
Startup business is difficult, but it is possible. Some go into it eyes-wide-open and know it’s going to be a 10-year journey and hard as hell. Most do not. And that’s OK. There’s a bit of naivete that goes into it, and that may actually help you.
It’s also insanely rewarding—and not just financially. Even if you don’t end up where you want, even if your startup isn’t successful in the way you thought it would be, it’s still going to be good. People think that leaving a corporate job for a startup that doesn’t work ruins their career. I think it’s the opposite. If you go for a startup and it’s successful, great. If not, you’ve advanced your career because you’ve gained things you wouldn’t have in a corporate job. I don’t believe there’s any failure in startups because, at the very worst, you’ll learn lessons you can apply to anything. This is how I approach my business and how many successful entrepreneurs do as well. Expect uncertainty, know it’s coming, then be ready for it.
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