Tackling the uncertainty of startups

Hey there,

Over the past 6 years of building a startup, I’ve realized that the journey never gets easier. You just get better at handling the challenges.

And the most killer of all challenges is just the severe uncertainty of outcome you have to deal with day after day, month after month, year after year.

Sure, this is the case with most things in life, but is the most apparent in startups. You have more things to do than you can. In that, it is tough to choose the right things to focus on. Even after that, it is tough to know if you are truly making progress or not.

So today, I want to share some practices & hacks that have helped me navigate this journey.

1. Bring certainty to everything else in life

Now, nothing much can be changed about the uncertainty and randomness that envelop the world of startups. However, you can control how you live the other parts of your life.

So, build strong routines everywhere else. Have a strong sense of discipline and DON’T give up on the routines be what may. They will give you the mental stability needed.

For example, in my case:

• I wake up at 6am +/- 10 mins

• Take my dog, Rocket, for a 45-50 min walk

• Go to the gym for an hour

• Have breakfast & get ready for work

This routine is absolutely constant every single day. Since I know what to expect at the start of each morning, it gives me a solid sense of control over the day and helps me prepare for the curve balls I might face later at work.

2. Focus on effort metrics till you can track output

Now, the inability to gauge progress can feel very uncomfortable. Obsessing about output all the time can cost you your sanity. Instead, hold yourself accountable to “effort metrics”.

For example:

- Marketing: Write ‘x’ blogs/ week

- Sales: Reach out to ‘y’ potential clients/ day

…and so on.

The idea is to make a plan to achieve your goals. Then, to trust the plan & focus on whether you are diligently executing it or not. Output should then only be tracked periodically, at which point you can tweak the plan again and then repeat the process.

Plan => Execute sincerely => Review output => Tweak plan => Repeat…

3. Celebrate incremental growth

Finally, no matter how disciplined you are, you need periodic motivation boosts to keep you on track. That comes from knowing you are making progress, no matter how small.

So, whenever you review output periodically, identify aspects that you have grown in and celebrate those milestones.

This builds a strong virtuous cycle of effort and reward that will sustain you for long periods of time.

Best,
Karthik

P.S. Please consider forwarding this to a friend! It would really help my two startups.

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