When doing the “right” thing isn’t the right thing

There are a million things to do at a startup every day. Everyone and everything screams for your attention. It’s easy to let “other people’s problems” dominate your calendar and distract you from focusing on the top goal that ensures the company’s survival. First-time founders tend to spend time on activities that are nice to have to build a long-term sustainable business. However, they lose sight of the fact that if the business isn’t growing at the intended rate, the company won’t meet the requisite short-term milestones needed to reach its North Star goal: raise the next round of funding.

Building a venture-backed startup is vastly different from running an established business. Taking a startup from zero to one requires a survival mentality focusing on short-term success over long-term planning. Founders need to make tradeoffs that may feel counterintuitive; doing what’s right in the long term is usually not the right thing to do in the short term.

For example, mentoring a motivated but low-performing employee may be the right thing to do in an established business, but it may also be a distraction at a cash-strapped Pre-Seed startup. Or, spending time recreating an operational tool that an existing, inexpensive off-the-shelf solution already solves instead of asking “Is this helping me get to my goal?” If the answer isn’t an obvious yes, stop doing it. When up against a finite runway, every minute and dollar spent counts and should be spent relentlessly pursuing your North Star goal. Focusing on a single goal and intentionally prioritizing activities based on how they support the goal is a constraint that helps founders move fast.

Instead of asking “What’s the right thing to do?” founders should ask “Is this the right thing to be focused on?” Of course, everyone wants to do the “right” thing. But determining what the right thing is requires context. In the context of building a startup, the right thing to do is always going to be the thing that gets you to your goal faster. This means making hard decisions and making them fast. If we reframe the low-performing employee example in the context of building a start-up, the right thing to do is to let the employee go quickly and move on. This isn’t because you don’t care about career development, but under the time and resource constraints, spending time here would be at the detriment of the overall company’s survival.

Doing the right thing in the context of building a startup is often counterintuitive. Things that make sense at established companies can be detrimental to startups. Things like solutioning for problems that don’t yet exist, over-indexing on feedback, and being overly dogmatic, are common first-time founder behaviors that feel like the right thing to do but are dangerous detractions.

So, what should founders do instead?

Focus on the positive path

Startup founders have a lot at stake. Every decision they make takes them one step closer or one step further from success. The pressure to make the right decisions can easily lead to analyzing all possible outcomes and hyperfocusing on potential negative paths. Being extremely calculated feels like the right thing because the stakes are high. But in this situation, precious energy is spent anticipating and solutioning for problems that don’t exist. It’s an energy black hole that leads to acting on assumptions instead of testing to get real-life data and feedback.

Instead of…	Reframe
What if something goes wrong?	How do I get to my intended outcome?

Instead of spending energy workshopping for some future, hypothetical scenario, focus on what’s directly in front of you. For example, when making a critical hire that can make or break the company instead of cycling around what happens if this person says no, channel energy to getting the person to say yes. Resist the urge to jump two steps ahead and get bogged down in the “what ifs.” Focus your energy on increasing the likelihood of a positive outcome path. If the negative path does happen, you will have more information to help you move forward.

Maintain forward momentum

Experienced founders avoid dwelling on setbacks and circling the same subject repeatedly. They make quick decisions with available information, adapt quickly, and iterate when presented with new data. If a term sheet didn’t come through as expected, they’d reflect on it for a brief moment, synthesize key learnings, and then move on to the next VC on their call list. The focus isn’t “Why didn’t I get this term sheet?” but “How do I adjust the pitch to get to yes next time?”

Instead of…	Reframe
Why didn’t I get this customer/investor?	How do I close the next one?

Investing time into understanding the why and acting on feedback feels right, but time is a luxury. Most feedback is a signal: are we on the right or wrong track? Feedback should help you make progress towards your goals, not take you on a detour. Remember, not all feedback is equal, and don’t listen to investors who pass. Use data whenever possible to validate feedback and prioritize where you spend your time.

Choose the path of least resistance

Startup founders need to be flexible and agile. This requires an uncompromising focus on the here and now. Planning for the future seems responsible but at startups, the future is not guaranteed. Instead of planning, focus on eliminating immediate obstacles. Every decision made should reduce friction and get you to your goals faster.

Instead of…	Reframe
What will I need in the future?	What’s in my way right now?

Two common mistakes startup founders make that add friction are being overly dogmatic and obsessing over details that often make them lose focus. While being uncompromisingly principled about certain things may work for an established business, it slows down a startup. For example, only using open source solutions because they are open source, not because they are the better tool. Choose the easy path—you can always change tools after you’ve raised more money and have more time to tinker.

Similarly, established businesses often hire based on projected future needs but startups should stay focused on hiring for immediate impact. Use your limited time as a guide to uncovering highly critical activities. When you don’t have time for one of those activities, hire for that role. The same can be true for backfilling a position. Instead of dropping everything to hire, work with the existing team to adapt processes. See it as an opportunity to get more efficient versus a setback.

Stay in your “Zone of Genius"

Everyone has their own “Zone of Genius," where your skills can have the greatest impact. When asking, “What do I need to focus on right now to meet my goal?” focus on your Zone of Genius and accept the help and resources available to help you move things faster. For example, some founders feel they need to improve their administrative skills to be good leaders but will becoming more proficient at business taxes help you drive more revenue? Probably not.

Focus on what you can do to drive the business and metrics forward and let someone else take care of what’s in their domain of expertise, even if you disagree. Establish a framework for quick decision-making, like documenting considerations in an open handbook, to avoid one-off negotiation every time and build trust with other subject matter experts. This will enable everyone to stay on the same page and be empowered to make decisions within their domain. Efficiency is achievable when you’re not reinventing the wheel.

Adapting your mindset to “What is the right thing to be focused on right now to meet my north star” will help you achieve your goals faster. It’s a helpful reframing that prevents quagmire by constricting decision-making to the most immediate needs. Growth solves most problems—achieving your growth goals is the path to wider possibilities.