Anything Worth Doing...

There are a lot of CEOs and VC bloggers who give advice to start-ups. It must be something about starting a company or funding a company that makes you want to share your experience with the world. Fred Wilson (a board member of TargetSpot), Marc Andreessen and others do a great job of sharing their experiences, and I will not attempt to rehash any of their wisdom since there is a good chance if you read this, you have read them. But when on rare occasion I feel I can make a contribution, I will post it. So here I go...

Probably my favorite rule of thumb for early stage companies is one that was told to me when I was working in politics. I was in Norman Adler's office discussing a campaign I was working on and told him I didn't think I could get to all of the things that needed to be done. [If you like working at startups, you will love political campaigns. A political campaign is a startup with a mandatory exit within a defined period of time - and it is usually less than a year. There is a sense of urgency to get things done like in no other profession (ok, maybe medical/public safety, etc. but you get the drift). ] Norman then turns to me and says,

"anything worth doing is worth doing crappy"

And it stuck.

When I tell people this, the reaction is either a polite cringe or a loud argument. It's easy to misunderstand. The point is that imperfect action is better than inaction. And in a startup, with limited resources, perfection is nearly impossible. You are constantly making sacrifices and compromises so your business can grow rapidly. And doing things "too well" is in my opinion will limit your growth.

Of course I am not advocating poor performance. We should always operate our business at the highest level possible. But when there are risks of not getting crucial work done, it's better to get it done than to get it perfect. Whether it is committing to a product spec, a timely press release, or a sales proposal, getting it done is what matters. We can always improve our pitch, product and press down the road, but you dont get second chances at point in time opportunities.

And that is why this blog will never be perfect, but has a good chance of being.