I recently decided to cash in an expiring gift certificate that someone had given me, and I began working with a personal trainer. After doing a bunch of exercises to determine how my body moved and which muscle groups were compensating for others, the trainer asked a very simple but pointed question.
“So what’s your goal here?” I stared back at them blankly.
Seeing my confusion, they continued, “You’re about to commit to something that takes effort, and we find that if you don’t have a purpose, you’ll fizzle out and will have just wasted time and money.”
I’ve been reflecting on that simple interaction and the importance of setting clear objectives. It reminded me of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, who famously said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter which path you take.” I meet too many people in the startup ecosystem who seem to be building something without much of a goal in mind.
I’ve been really lucky
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of being part of some remarkable stories in the DTC world. I’ve witnessed the birth, growth, acquisition, and even closure of several well-known DTC brands.
A few that I’ve been particularly proud of:
- I built the UK DTC strategy and operation for Mars after they acquired Kind Bar
- I’ve been a part of category-defining companies like Hubble Contacts & The Flex Company
- I’ve helped build bootstrapped lifestyle businesses that are profitable to the tune of millions a year for the Founder
- I’ve been around the launch of celebrity brands
- I worked with dozens of brands who were on Shark Tank
- I’ve also been present during the early days of current unicorn giants like The Farmer’s Dog
- I regularly help large growth equity CPG investors diligence top-tier brands
- I had a front row seat for the launch, rapid expansion, acquisition, integration, and, ultimately, the shutdown of Mirror by Lululemon
I’ve come to understand that starting a business is relatively easy, but building one that someone wants to buy or one that can sustain itself is undeniably challenging.
You don’t have unlimited turns
While I’m not a die-hard gamer, I do have a guilty pleasure – the Sid Meier’s Civilization series. What captivates me about it is the multitude of strategies you can use to win the game in a set number of turns. In a way, the startup world is the ultimate role-playing game, but we don’t know how many turns we’ll have. How founders use their time and opportunities today really matters.
The ultimate goal in the startup world isn’t merely to exist. Yet it seems that some teams confuse the starting line with the finish line.
What if there was a recipe?
For some founders, it might feel like they’re learning the rules of the game in the 3rd or 4th quarter (hence the premium on second time founders who have exited).
One of the key conversations I’ve been having more and more with founders is about engineering the outcome that is best for them. I’ve had some remarkable insights and developed a framework that has helped brands understand the impacts of their decisions appropriate to their stage.
In the year ahead, I’ll be focusing on sharing case studies, conducting interviews, sharing research, and offering insights into how founders can engineer their outcomes.
Back to that purpose from my new trainer? I’d like to finally run a marathon.
