Do More Faster India, 2nd Edition

Theme Three: Working Effectively

Startups are in one of two states: controlled chaos or uncontrolled chaos. We see startups flip from one state to the other with surprising frequency. A startup has so many things going on, so much to do, all in uncharted territory, with no real path to follow. It’s like hiking in the woods under a dense fog: you know that the forest is filled with animals, trees, and flowers, but you can only see what’s right in front of you. The best entrepreneurs are those who can manage the chaos—they live with it and they work around it. They focus on what’s important.

Efficiency of execution is so important to startups that we have deliberately designed processes to detect it as part of the Techstars application process. We look for concise and direct emails instead of endless phone calls. We are more impressed by founders who supplement their applications with quick and dirty videos that show the basics of what they are doing rather than with those who waste time creating a highly polished video. There are dozens of other clues that help us determine whether the team has one of the most important entrepreneurial traits—the ability to get stuff done and focus on results.

Some entrepreneurs, like Jeff Powers and Vikas Reddy of Occipital, are execution machines. We know that whenever they put their mind to something they’ll grind it out and get it done. Others, like Andy Smith of DailyBurn, will sneak up on you with their calm, quiet competence. Before ...