Nov 02, 2023
I have been in the world of startups for quite some time now. While these have been thrilling experiences to say the least, in many ways they have been full of reminiscences of the beatings I took in the boxing ring during my 6-years’ stint in boxing.
I have been in the world of startups for quite some time now. While these have been thrilling experiences to say the least, in many ways they have been full of reminiscences of the beatings I took in the boxing ring during my 6-years’ stint in boxing.
In many ways a corporate job also demands a lot from you, and the ones I’ve been in the last decade or so of my career have done just that. But nothing comes close to this.
Some might call it a marathon, some might draw parallels with a sprint or some might relate to a test match in the cricket analogy, but in many ways an early startup’s probability of hitting successful outcomes is similar to the principles of boxing. Here are a few I think apply well in startups.
1. Agility? Sure, but don’t kill the balance: Agility and speed to market is the key in tech businesses, but being agile doesn’t just mean moving with the needs of your customers. Sure, one needs to be agile but one also needs to avoid an overreaching punch that can potentially throw you off balance. Some founders try to do exactly that, they build confused products with a huge amount of functionality, acquire a lot of customers and then hide the mediocrity behind the eternal excuse of ‘startups being imperfect’.
2. Punching-up is the new normal: Unlike a corporate, where you are mostly competing with players who are either the same size, smaller, or disrupting a market with a stronghold of an incumbent. At a startup — whether it is because of a customer’s inability to move the status quo or a big fat monopolistic player who doesn’t acknowledge the guy running it in his garage — one needs to punch-up hard, and you are mostly doing just that. The sooner you realise that this is your new normal, the better. So don’t go about creating a fuss on how it’s unfair and hard. My coach always said, ‘Jab you idiot, just jab’. I had a lot of tall boxers to fight and training on punching-up from day one helped me bleed a lot less in the ring.
3. Enduring the long term intensity: 3 minutes in the ring could be the longest 3 minutes of your life, don’t clinch your fists, move in a rhythm and don’t take it personally. This helps you hit hard when you land a cross while pivoting the back foot. Best boxers know how to do this pretty well to endure long term intensity. Startups need to do the same with utmost discipline. They need to learn from their scars, pivot with a sense of urgency, be light footed on pricing and licensing matrix and do all this while maintaining their relationships with people (Employees and customers). If they don’t, they’ll see a lot of smart, talented and dedicated people burn out soon.
4. Don’t wait for the bell: Most team sports let one player recover for some time(as much as 20 to 30 seconds) while the others take a lead. With boxing however, you are always in the line of fire. I have had the worst cheap shots like elbows or dangerous low blows during the last milliseconds; when I wanted that round to just end. Startups are the same, while you work in teams, every founder should be willing to take up things as they come. I`ve seen decisions sitting on a founder’s desk compound to crazy drawbacks within weeks as they sometimes think that they weren’t equipped to take that decision and somebody else should’ve done it on their behalf.
5. Plan A – Lets fail: Many a times in boxing you’ll see boxers throw a punch halfway to distract the opponent only to land a right cross, which was the plan all along. Founders should try to fail fast, small, cheap and forward (I’d go far to say, even deliberately) sometimes to even what works better. This not only helps you weigh your bets right, but also sets up a culture that fosters bets and intelligent risks. I’d say, hire extremely smart people, and let them take their own bets, you would do just fine.
6. Put up a good show: Bouts are hard and strenuous for boxers. But the best boxers always win the crowd. Never forget, you were just a lone guy dancing in the park, your team came along to help you with your dream. Make it the best stint of their careers, you owe it to them!
