Founder's Journey: The Unfair Superpower

Being in the very early stages of building a business, my day is driven by a master to-do list of critical questions that need answers. I’m either adding things to the list as the team discovers new potential constraints or I’m scratching things off the list because we’ve managed to find an acceptable answer to a critical unknown. It’s all about the daunting task of assembling a machine without an instruction manual and hoping that you’ll eventually get it to work.

But what I’m reminded of every day is that many questions can’t be answered by someone on the team. Some questions can only be answered by someone with a very specific skill set or require fact gathering that isn’t in the public domain. Outsiders might have the answers you’re looking for or at the very least might be able to shed light on what’s worked or failed in the past. They might be able to point you in the right direction or help you cut off dead-end paths. These resources are in very real ways part of your extended team.

This leads me to a truth that many young and inexperienced Founders don’t want to hear: The combined network of your team might be one of the top predictors of your ultimate success. This is such an important concept that I’m going to be blunt:

If you don't have a strong network, you're starting your founder journey with a crippling disadvantage!

This might not seem fair. We love the myth of the lone genius who disrupts an industry through sheer brilliance and determination. But the reality of building a business involves hundreds of small decisions and dozens of critical inflection points where the right connection can save you weeks of time, thousands of dollars, and countless mis-steps.

For instance, the business I’m currently building has to navigate a complex licensing issue that will impact the entire business model. Instead of spending weeks researching and potentially getting it wrong, I was one degree removed from a true expert in the space. I asked for an intro and a few days later my team was on a call with legal specialists who provided the clarity we needed. We now know enough to move forward with confidence and we didn’t waste any time or money along the way.

What’s crystal clear is that our network is coming into play EVERY DAY. We’ve been tapping our network to get insights from C-suite Executives who candidly share insider knowledge that won’t appear in any industry report. We’re tapping into information you can’t Google or get from a LLM. It's the kind of contextual understanding that only comes from lifelong experts and will only be shared through trusted relationships.

And hiring? The difference is night and day. While some Founders spend months looking for the right people to fill their critical roles, a few strategic messages to our network yields exceptional candidates within days. These aren't just qualified people – they’re pre-vetted individuals whose track records are personally vouched for by people we trust.

Is this fair to first-time founders without established networks? No. But it's how the world works, and acknowledging this reality is the first step toward addressing it. So, if you're going down the startup path without a strong network, you need to make building one your top priority – possibly even before you take your first step. Bring on a super-connected Co-Founder. Get a well-networked Angel Investor interested in your idea even if their check will be super small. Join Founder communities, accelerators, and industry organizations that come with built out network. Just do something!

A brilliant idea and exceptional execution still matter enormously. But in the early, fragile days of company building, your network might be the resource that keeps you alive long enough to let those other factors come into play.

Onwards and Upwards.

May 3, 2025