When I started my first company, Coplex, I was in high school. As a young entrepreneur I faced many challenges, but with some effort, I built a strong team around me who helped grow Coplex into the successful company it is today.
I’ve since founded two additional successful companies, Open Me (which was recently acquired by Rowl), and Pluto TV (an Internet TV platform that raised $13M), and worked with some of the smartest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Though I’m 32 now, in the world of entrepreneurship, I’m still considered young. I’m often surrounded by seasoned executives who are 10 and 20 years older than me. Their accomplishments and wisdom speaks to years of experience. It’s not hard to see why they often challenge my ideas and question my proposed direction.
As a young leader, not everyone will initially perceive you the same way they would a seasoned executive, even if you have just as much experience as someone older than you. But you can do a few things to build a strong team around you and earn respect as a young entrepreneur:
1. Break the mold.
In a startup environment, knowing “too much” can be your biggest obstacle. When you perceive yourself as an expert, it’s hard to change patterns. To break into the market and get everyone’s attention, you must disrupt the norm.
Many times, different ways of thinking clash with your experience. But you have to be open to thinking way outside the box, otherwise you’ll produce what’s already been done. The invention of something novel requires novel thinking.
2. Find a balance between wisdom and inertia.
Hire people who are smarter than you so they can challenge your ideas and point out problems with your plans. If they prove you wrong, they just saved you from a potentially fatal business decision.
The people you work with should challenge you. It keeps you sharp. But you also don’t want to work with people who are so seasoned they’re stuck in their ways.
In the entrepreneurship world, there are two kinds of people: the this-is-what-I-do-and-how-I-do-it type, and the adaptable type. Both are needed for different situations. But if you want to grow your business fast, choose people who err on the side of adaptable.
3. Consider everyone’s advice, but watch out for egos.
Part of being a great leader is admitting you don’t know it all. If you did, you wouldn’t need the employees you lead.
Ask for advice and consider multiple options. Try to see where your team members are coming from; as you gather feedback, you can use that to make calculated decisions.
Beware of letting egos get in the way of upward motion. Some people will waste time and energy trying to prove their point to be right, when that energy should really be focused on what’s best for the business. At the end of the day, it’s not about who knows better, it’s about the best possible route to take.
No matter their age, entrepreneurs are exceptional people. They take a major pain point in life and do something about it. They are the pioneers who are willing to solve a problem no one else has dared to yet.
As a young mind with much to give the world, seek to partner with people from all walks of life. Respect their ideas, but don’t be afraid to stand up for your own.
What are some of the most difficult obstacles you’ve struggled with as a young entrepreneur? Share in the comments below!
