Why startup founders need speed
Tick tock – can others hear your clock?
Recently I introduced a startup to a potential investor and they followed up in 4 minutes.
How a startup works with time is a clear indicator of their culture and can be an indicator of their future success.
Why time matters
Time is everything in a startup. The resources that we have fuel a timeline.
When the resources run out, the timeline ends. The job is to extend the timeline before the hour glass runs out.
Time between actions is waste.
If it takes 3 weeks to answer an email, then that is 3 weeks that has been added to the timeline with no value delivered in between.
When it is possible to feel the cadence of a company in their actions, it can pull the other party into the same rhythm.
The march towards the next action is more likely.
Do you have a metronome that people outside can hear?
- When other people interact with you, can they hear your click of time?
- When you send out updates, do they land on schedule at the same time each week?
- Can others feel how much you are getting done in each cycle?
- When you agree next actions, is the timing clear?
Do you habitually compress cycles?
- How can I automate this?
- Who could do this for me?
- Did I just manually create something I have created many times before?
- Are unnecessary activities cluttering my timeline and blocking the flow?
This is one way that I measure myself
When a common activity takes too long, I know my systems have broken. My clock is broken.
It is time to reflect, consider my schedule, remove clutter and automate.
- This post first appeared on Phil Morle’s daily blog, where he writes about what he is learning in deep tech venture building. Read more here. Follow him on Twitter at @philmorle
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