Start-Ups Changing the World

FountainBlue’s June 11 When She Speaks women in leadership series program, on the topic of ‘Start-ups Changing the World’. Please join me in thanking our hosts at Coupa and our esteemed panelists. 

Our panelists were passionate about start-ups and have supported them as entrepreneurs, funders, founders, advisers, and leaders. There were many reasons why they each opted to support start-ups.

• Many Start-ups focus on solving specific real-world problems and focus on getting things done.
• Many start-up build close relationships with their teammates through the intense and exciting activities around the launching and building of companies.
• Working at start-ups provide many opportunities to learn and grow faster.

But working at start-ups is not always a bed of roses.

• Many start-ups can be too chaotic, inconsistent and ineffective because of lack of leadership, lack of communication, lack of process.
• Many start-ups lack the funding to realize results.
• It’s hard as a start-up to get customers to engage because the service and solution is unproven.

But it’s worth it to work for start-ups! Here’s some advice for selecting the right start-up.

• Choose a start-up that’s focused on solving a problem you’re passionate about.
• Choose a start-up that’s well funded, in a market that’s growing.
• Choose a start-up which creates partnerships and alliances to help the start-up overcome obstacles and grow fast.
• Choose a start-up that’s nimble enough AND stable/funded enough to succeed.
• Choose a start-up that does well (from a business sense) and does right (from a sustainability and world-changing perspective).

Below are some hot opportunities identified by our panelists:

• Look at the data and how the data can drive everyday business opportunities.
• Sustainability initiatives will both support the Earth and its people and build business opportunities as well.
• Healthcare opportunities abound, and creating successful solutions help people live better, healthier and even longer lives.

Choose to be more efficient and more effective, regardless of whether you work in a start-up or a big company.

• Choose quality over quantity.
• Measure what matters.
• Focus on the north star – the WHY. Then talk about the WHAT and the HOW.
• Keep reaching for stars.
• Choose continuous learning. Fail often, but fail forward.
• Make the time to do things you’re passionate about. 
• Don’t over-think.
• Support others of all genders and backgrounds in being confident and courageous enough to do all of the above.

The bottom line is that we need both start-ups and corporates to partner with others across the ecosystem to build innovation and leadership opportunities while solving real-world problems.

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