3 Things I Learned about Startups From Founders Live

I wrote a LinkedIn post about this topic a few weeks ago and thought I’d spell it out more. There has always been this aura about being a founder and growing something that is organically yours. In fact, I can see the passion that some of these startup founders have is incredible. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert in being an entrepreneur or on startups. But I have picked a few things along the way and have learned quite a bit over the last year. Because of that, I would like to share the 3 things I learned about startups from Founders Live. To illustrate, I have broken them into sections that I see as my growth with Founders Live in Dallas. And how I have used Founders Live Dallas as my version of a startup.

Growth takes time

This one involves a lot of emotional intelligence. Trust me, I’ve spent over 2 decades (I’m only 30) trying to slow down and take my time. I’m still working on it. But over the last 3-4 years I’ve learned a thing or two about patience. Don’t get me wrong, I’m guilty of wanting success to happen quickly. But, I have learned that you should be happy with the progress you are making now. That is the key to success in any industry. Not trying to move too fast is hard, because everyone wants immediate gratification. But those who succeed and focus on the step in front of them are the ones who succeed. It’s how you get into that flow state (or the zone as it’s called in the sports world).

Have a great group that you love working with

Loving what you do is one thing. But if you don’t have people you love working with, the thing that you love can still be unenjoyable. Finding that group of people that you can be yourself and fail with is the greatest feeling. Not everyone finds it, but those who do, seem to do great things. Moreover, it makes just waking up and being purposeful easy. You work harder, and you feel more driven to complete this mission that you are on.

Trying, failing, and making improvements for every event is OKAY!

This is a hard thing for people to get over. Just going through with your plan and iterating is what helps you grow. Let’s take Founders Live for a second. When I started Founders Live, I remember thinking that I wasn’t good at getting in front of people and MCing an event, social media marketing, or being an event planner. Those sets of deficiencies together make up for not a great event. But that didn’t discourage me. I knew that if I got at least 4 people to the event I was going to find a way to make the best of it. Well, the good news is I got 20 people to show up. After doing it once a month, for the last 9 months, we finally were able to not only get over 100 people showing up to our events, but we even got a few sponsors! Every event and social media post I kept taking advice and adding to the list of things that I did wrong the previous time. Which made every event that much better.

The same goes for running a business. You need to start somewhere and iterate with every step. It’s okay to try something and see it not work out. That’s normal. What you do after you see that failure is important, though. If you choose to be fearful of trying new things after that you will never recover. But, if you look to learn from you mistakes, you will continue to always move forward.

Takeaways

The 3 things I learned about startups from Founders Live that I have stated here are not an exhaustive list. Trust me, there is plenty more that I have learned over the past year. Because of that, I’m looking forward to continuing to learn more as I progress through my journey as an entrepreneur. I will for sure share more of what I learn down the road.

In the meantime, all I can say is not taking your life too seriously is the key to growing. Meaning, you will make mistakes and that is okay. With a great support system around you, you will always succeed. Believe in yourself and spend time with people that bring you joy. It just makes the journey that much more enjoyable!