The Psychology of Momentum in Startups

In the world of startups where goals are ambitious and resources are thin, it’s easy to fixate on massive milestones. Milestones such as Series A funding, product-market fit, or a major acquisition. But what if the fuel for success and to hit those massive markees isn’t in finding inspiration from them, but in the smaller, more frequent wins along the way?

Psychologists and business thinkers have long professed about the power of progress. Teresa Amabile, a professor at Harvard Business School, and Steven Kramer, an independent researcher and writer,  coined the “progress principle” after analyzing over 12,000 diary entries from professionals across multiple industries. Their findings? The most powerful motivator at work isn’t money, status, or even mission. It’s the feeling of making consistent progress on meaningful goals or projects.

For startups founders, small wins, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem to the bigger picture, play an amplified role in shaping company culture and momentum. Landing a first customer, sending a cold email and receiving a positive response, or building your MVP after months of work. These moments are not just check marks that one should simply brush over and ignore, they are proof of traction and ambition, they are signs that the idea is moving from concept to reality. In fact, statistics provided by award.co show that recognition of these moments increase employee productivity and engagement by between 14 and 43%.

The importance of these wins can be broken down into three key reasons. Firstly, they allow for psychological momentum. These wins, however small, release dopamine into the brain. This neurochemical, tasked with making us feel happy, motivates us to keep going. When a few successful actions are strung together, this begins to slowly build an emotional resilience to push through tough patches, an inevitability in any startup journey. Secondly, these wins allow for a company to build a winning culture. Startups tend to live and die by team energy. When progress is recognized and celebrated, it fosters a positive atmosphere in which people feel their work matters however menial or repetitive the task. This sense of importance and involvement is invaluable and can make a company achieve milestones faster due to increased productivity.

Finally, it attracts believers.  Whether it be investors, future talented hires or early customers, people tend to be drawn to momentum. A startup that portrays itself as “doing things” feels different than a startup that is constantly “about to” do something. Even the smallest of proof points, like securing a pilot partnership, can become powerful validation.

It’s easy to overlook these small wins when the big picture looms so large in the back of the mind. But the most successful founders are often those who understand that greatness is built incrementally, and that as the age old adage proclaims “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Taking a pause to celebrate a demo that didn’t crash, the email that got a reply, the kind review left by a user can oftentimes be what allows a company to push forward in tough times.

In a world obsessed with fast growth and massive exit’s, it's worth remembering that big success is usually just a long trail of small wins.