Note: Okay with failing, will not create Toxic Culture
Something as a founder I have decided over the years. Everywhere around you, you hear stories of founders who worked 16-18 hours a day, made their team work as hard, were assholes, shouted at people, made people cry.
You start to think, that's an absolute must to succeed. I don't think it is. For every 2-3 founders that are toxic, there's the one good natured founder who succeeds. They're rare, but they do exist.
- I've been in many toxic jobs. I've hated them, and had some form of anxiety. To become successful, if I subject people through the same, what was all of this for?
- I'm not saying I'll keep it too chill at my startup. I actually expect people to work harder than typical corporates, but only if they have good ESOPs in the early days, a chance to actually learn and do well (and that should be pre-aligned)
- But what about the mission? Don't you want to make sure your mission becomes true, whatever you're chasing actually reaches 1000s/millions of people? Sure. But it solves for many vacations for me, and maybe better lives for my kids, and perhaps some problem gets solved. But what if it doesn't. It cannot come at the cost of miserable lives for my team. I'll never be proud of my work if that happens.
We all have a decision. Why just be a successful founder? Why not have a higher aim... be a successful non toxic founder? You'd be truly 1 in a million then.
That's how I'll always see it, I hope.
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As someone who has suffered long both physically and mentally in a subtly toxic environment, I'm glad to see someone having such views, it gives me hope. Where do I find more people like you? 😄
@ScholarlyTreasury glad to hear it Again, I need to be successful first, before people like you work with me :)
So true. It gives me hope about my own values. I want to be successful but not by burning myself and my team out.
If my success can’t make the world a better place than it was, what was it for, will feel really hollow for me.
2nd point - it's good that you understand it's a 2 way road. One should only expect dedicated hard work from an employee if the pay/esops are good
With esops employees also have some skin in the game and think they can make big
Practically ESOPs are having practically zero value until IPO or buyback happens, which is long runway especially for seed or series A startups. Recently, Swiggy layoffs the employees whose ESOPs are about be vested. So It's not easy to trust employer. So employee does hard work daily basis and before year ends, he is fired so that no vesting.
Unfortunately too many accelerators teaches entrepreneurs to focus on culture and pivot and fail fast than coming up with a original idea and executing it.
And most IT enabled copy cat businesses call themselves startups to show numbers to raise funding leads to all of the toxicity you mention
Heard this somewhere "Don't worry about people stealing your ideas, if the idea is original, you will have to ram it down peoples throats except for a few who believe in the mission"
"Startup is the implementation of an idea which has never been done before and has a high chance of failure or outsized returns"
When Money Come
You will Turn
This earth is the Area of Maya - The Matrix
You don't know her actually !!!
True gem, rare but gem!
Best wishes to you 🙌
Correct dude remember NVIDIA i had a founder who is falthu
@Royalflush That’s so good. At least someone thinking about it. I will definitely like to join such companies. Keep it up.
Simple try and have a one to one with your most junior team members, they will give you reality check.
Its really noble for someone to think this way. Have a great life dude. ❤️ Walk your talk, always.