“I have formally
resigned from the company I started 7 years back. I am now just a shareholder,
ready to move on”. The email arrived on a Sunday evening surprising me, the
sender was the Founder of a purported unicorn in a not so crowded space which
had also led to funding offers from some of the well-known names in the
industry. We had not connected for some time and thus I wondered what happened;
was the exit a happy one or strained ? Curiosity had to wait for the meeting to
happen.
He had challenged conventional wisdom going back to the foundations
from which all the currently available solutions were born in that category;
taking an alternate path, his team had created a new way of solving the problem
and also addressing the constraints that most industry solutions faced. It took
some effort to find the first paying customer who also became referenceable.
Step by step he built the business with a motley team that kept going despite ups
and downs in the industry and the economy.
The Intellectual Property they built was granted patents
bringing joy and high expectations. Funding came with a promise to help scale
up and scale out the business; it was before the startup hype hit the roof where
investors offered money for any idea that connected mass of consumers, with a
hope to achieve 10X growth or 100X return. In comparison his journey was slow
and steady, sales cycles being long when selling to enterprises; in the market
of consumer scale up hares, the tortoise failed to get its due.
Losing patience, the moneybags started challenging the
ability to execute and meet expectations; discussion, debate, and some antacids
later, experts were implanted to take stock of the situation and recommend
changes required to achieve the true potential. The new team conducted an assessment
promising to help realize and unlock value. They also suggested changes to key
portfolios which were grudgingly accepted by the founders. The reorganized
gung-ho team set about to conquer the world.
Founding team members aligned to the new, hoping to see
their passion child grow and make a mark globally. After all if the new
strategy were to work it will multiply their success and thus was worth the calculated
gamble. Quick wins and good news came early with expressions of interest from
potential large customers wanting to evaluate and explore. The team redoubled
their efforts charged by the positive momentum they felt; the sweet ring of
cash registers appeared to be beckoning the business.
Many moons later the potential failed to convert, the costs
rising with the additional management overhead; product development was
reprioritized based on anticipated global business leaving the local market
hanging. With money slowly running out, the promise of a better tomorrow
started losing interest it sheen, survival mattered on the ability of the new
leaders to live up to their lofty goals; blaming the lack of success on the
products inability to meet requirements, they attempted to shift the blame.
The company disintegrated with infighting between the promoters
who were now divided into two camps and the capitalists who wanted to take over
the company at a significantly diluted valuation. Employees started leaving
with uncertainty over the future of the once lauded company which had won recognition
from many quarters. They still had an edge over competition who were unable to
replicate the offering with the same level of engineering; customers continued
to use the solution oblivious of the battle within.
I was exhausted hearing about the journey; he was fresher
than I remember him being in a long time with the travails behind him and ready
for a new start. He was bubbling with excitement on the new venture of which he
apprised me with the same enthusiasm that I had seen at the beginning of his
earlier venture. This time around he was vehement in his decision on not
raising money from the sharks (reminded me of a popular TV show), he showed no
angst at the loss of value and control of his passion child of 7 years !
The story repeats itself many times over with startups who
have been finding it difficult to sustain their easily copied innovations or
their inability to scale to promises made at the time of funding. Forced
mergers and shutdowns have been the norm; technology led disruptions continue but
sustaining the euphoria requires razor sharp focus on the strategy and direction.
Squabbling only serves to defocus the team and diminished value for everyone;
competition is few steps behind in most cases, they catch up quickly.
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