Honesty in entrepreneurship is good strategy.
Persuading and impressing? Or self-belief and fit?
Startup founders, today’s post is particularly geared toward you. But wonderful solopreneurs, lifestyle entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurial folks, I think you will find value in it too. I invite you, whatever your sphere, to read for a single insight that will help you in your life or work today.
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A hypothetical for your consideration:
If there were only one potential investor in the whole wide world, and you needed investment for your company to succeed, and you REALLY wanted your company to succeed, what would you do?
One answer: you might say whatever you needed to say to convince that investor to invest in you. You’d use persuasion, you’d create that hockey stick financial projection slide, you’d find that you’re unconsciously (or consciously) fitting your mission to theirs, you’d paint an awesome, rosy picture with your goals, and more. You’d try to impress the hell out of them, and you’d fib and fudge where necessary. Right?
The glorious reality, though, is that there are many potential investors out there. There have been in the past, and there are certainly more now: many inspiring people of all genders, backgrounds, ethnicities, nationalities, investment theses, and personal missions.
What a cool thing, right? We are definitely living in a confusing time of challenges for many, and we are also living in a time of opportunity and possibility.
The wild thing I see, though, is that many entrepreneurs, when they are pitching their companies for investment – or when working to bring on advisors, partners, and teammates – feel the pressure of that made-up scenario above, as though it isn’t hypothetical, but the truth. When they are in front of any given person, pitching, they feel enormous pressure to have that person like them and their company. To convince them, to impress them.
And that effort to impress creates big imbalances:
Power dynamic favoring the investor – The entrepreneur feels “less than,” and at the whims of the potential investor.
Not being yourself – The entrepreneur isn’t really being themselves, but rather trying to fit some mold they imagine the potential investor wants and expects to see.
Dishonesty – The entrepreneur lies. Small lies, usually, that seem innocuous and are even accepted in startupland – fudged projections and rosy data, or catering to investors’ passions rather than sticking with one’s mission.
And are any of those imbalances terrible offenses? No. BUT, they are serious bummers, because they can lead to partnerships that aren’t aligned and go south sooner or later, to a muddled vision for the company that leads to inefficiency or failure, and to unhappy, super-stressed-out founders.
I propose an alternate approach. Instead of persuading and convincing, leading to the bummer results above, what if pitching is all about self-belief and fit.
When we are 100% ourselves, believing in our capabilities and resourcefulness, standing up for our values, and bringing big enthusiasm to what motivates us, we can’t help but attract people to us – not everyone, but the right people for us. The right fit. “Be yourself, so that the people looking for you can find you,” says Arlan Hamilton.
It is honest, and it is SO much more FUN.
You can express your full passion for what you’re doing, without fear of judgment. Because hey, some people are going to judge you, but you know what, those aren’t your people. Godspeed to them.
And you can be real about the progress you’ve made and the questions that are still to be answered, bringing people along on the journey with you. And after all, startup stakeholders WANT to be on the journey. If they didn’t, they’d put their resources and efforts elsewhere.
This approach creates some gorgeous, balanced results:
Relationships based on equality and mutual benefit.
Aligned partnerships that increase the chance for business success.
The good, clean feeling of being fully in your integrity, rather than the squishy feeling of kinda fibbing.
“Fake it till you make it” is a thing of the past. Let’s be ourselves and be even more successful because of it.
What insight did you get from this? Write back and let me know.
Kathleen
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p.s. If you’re ready to bring curiosity to your beliefs and habits – letting go of old baggage and making purposeful, EXCITING decisions about your future – come to EyeOpener, a new transformational coaching weekend with me. April 5-7 in Cambridge, MA.
You’ll open your eyes to a bolder way of life and business. And you’ll leave with courage to take that big leap you’re considering, clarity like you haven’t experienced in years, conviction about who you are and what you stand for, upleveled leadership skills to bring back to your team, and action steps to make the daily life you want a reality.