The Startup Playbook, 2nd Edition

Chapter 3Am I Cut Out to Found a Startup?

I (Will) am not a visionary. There, I admitted it in print. But, that just doesn't matter when it comes to being a successful founder. In every company that I've co-founded, I've been part of a team that had at least one person with strong visionary skills. And, that's what matters. Vision is a critical skill for the team to have. It's not critical that everyone has it individually.

I brought my own strengths to the founding teams I was a part of—strong cultural beliefs, management and people skills, the ability to drive execution, and a complete lack of interest in trying to do it alone. My deep-seated competitive drive certainly helped along the way as well.

I have plenty of weaknesses when it comes to being a textbook company founder, but I've always been part of a team that filled in for where I was weak. Because I also made a habit of surrounding myself with people who are smarter or more experienced than me, I learned along the way and kept myself from making the same mistakes too many times.

The First Question You Should Ask

Before diving into the basic principles of starting and running a company, we want to address a basic question that almost never gets asked, “Are you cut out to be a founder?” Often, would-be startup founders jump into developing their idea and building a company without taking a moment to reflect on whether they have the personality, discipline, and habits that will help them succeed at the endeavor.