At the VCs
Who Code panel at Google
I/O yesterday, Dick Costolo asked the assembled VCs the biggest
no-nos in a startup. Everyone gave excellent answers but my personal
favorite came from Brad Feld who said “fear is the biggest no-no.”
If
I look back over 20+ years of entrepreneurs I’ve backed, the ones who
were anxious and afraid of failure most certainly had worse outcomes
than the ones who were aggressive and confident. You simply can’t be
tentative in a startup. You have to go for it at every chance you get.
And
if the leader of the organization is anxious, his or her fear pervades
the organization. Everything comes from the top in a company. So it is
best to have to have a leader who exudes confidence.
You can
certainly have too much confidence. Arrogance and cockiness can be as
harmful to a startup as anxiety and fear. A person who is quietly
confident makes the best leader.
So if you are starting a company
or building one, face your fears and move past them. It’s critically
important to your company.
(For more from Fred, visit his blog)
(Image source: easytrainingcomputer.com)
