The First 2 Stages of Developing an Enterprise
I write this story as I reflect upon our journey over the last two years here at Five Health Enterprises. If you’re an entrepreneur starting out or are thinking of starting an enterprise, this article is for you.
So when you start out, you are responsible for any and everything it takes to get the ball rolling. One morning, you start out with developing an excel sheet for your business, 2 hours later, you’re drafting a legal agreement (with some pro-bono support from lawyer friends), the same evening you’re devising the marketing plan for your enterprise. The next morning when you get to work you find out that the sweeper you hired to clean left without notice and now you’re also the Chief Cleaning Officer, after your stint with the broom is done, you realize your website email server has crashed and lo and behold you’re googling how to fix your email server. Starting out, you’re responsible for any and every function.
Think of HR, Finance & Accounting, Business Development, Marketing & Communications, Legal, Administration, IT. You will learn SO much during this stage. This is Stage 1 of your journey — Bootstrapping. This stage has a steep learning curve and if you've come from a background of working in a large organization where there were separate departments for each of the functions mentioned above, it can get quite overwhelming. Expect this phase to last anywhere from 3 months — 2 years depending on how quickly you’re able to validate your business model and raise your first round of funding.
This stage is an MBA on steroids. The learning during this stage is astronomical. It’s like passing through the Bootcamp for the army. You will be tested physically, emotionally and mentally. It’s perhaps a rite of passage to see if you’re cut out to lead your enterprise into the next stage. Prepare to always feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day and you leave the office every day with some unfinished business.
Stage 1: Boot Strapping
What you do: Everything
How you feel: Overwhelmed, elated & depressed
How to cope: Have clear endpoints in the day when you close work and have some outlet to de-stress (yoga, exercise, sport, art - whatever floats your boat)
Expected duration: 3 month-2 years
What helped me the most: Having friends and allies from technical fields who would generously offer advice when I got stuck somewhere
Your business has gained traction. Revenue coming through, investors asking if you need funding. Congratulations! You have passed your first stage successfully. You have received your first medal of honour. You now decide it’s time to scale and choose to partner with an investor. An investor is chosen (or the investor chooses you, all a matter of perspective) and you sign on the dotted line. Celebration ensues and you breathe a sigh of relief.
In all honesty, after the investment is raised, the first few days after you’ve raised your first round, it feels quite surreal. You’re so used to bootstrapping and doing everything yourself that it feels a bit unnatural to have the resources to outsource or hire the expertise you require.
It is a mental shift that an entrepreneur must go through. Gear needs to shift in the entrepreneur's mind. Now is the time to gather the right people in the team. My focus in this stage now as I traverse this path is to get the best possible team together. People who are the best in their fields in our ecosystem and are certainly way better than me in what they do. Stage 2 is all about the people, Stage 2 is Team Building.
In this phase your job as the leader of your growing organization is to bring together the best people, align them with a common vision, create a work environment and culture where people can thrive and feel inspiring and then get out of the way so that magic can happen.
One needs to resist the urge to micromanage, one needs to resist the urge to get into the weeds. Perhaps this might be the most crucial stage of developing your enterprise since institutions are built on people and these people will be the pillars of your institution (hopefully!).
Stage 2: Team-Building
How you feel: You’re the Chief Energy Officer for the team. High levels of EQ required
What to do: Instill the feeling of chasing a common vision. Create ways to do it. We at Five Health have an Unwind session in the second half of every Friday where we share stories from the week, conduct a training to build each others capacity and talk about where we are headed next. We really cherish this time together.
Toughest part: Aligning personalities and priorities
Duration: From raising your first investment — ???
What has helped me the most: Speaking to serial entrepreneurs & senior leaders of large organizations to learn governance and team management
Dear Reader,
If you’re thinking of taking the plunge. Do it! You will learn immensely about yourself and a bit more about life. Building my organization with the fantastic people I work with has been perhaps the most gratifying experience of my life. It has its highs and lows but such is life.
“ A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. — J. A. Shedd”
