We Need A Hero

Summary

To be the hero in your own start-up story, you need to recognise there is a right path and a wrong path. Begin your start-up journey by knowing where you are going.

We Need A Hero

What’s the biggest difference between an entrepreneur with a start-up and the CEO of an established business? No, it’s not the money. The biggest difference is their attitude to what they are doing. Start-ups have the energy for beginning their journey, but whether they can remain on their quest is yet to be seen. No matter what line of business you are in, if you have a start-up you are on a hero’s journey.

You are not unique

You may feel like what you are trying to do with your start-up is totally unique, in fact in many ways this is what gives you your fire, but if you can recognise that it’s not you’ll do much better. Let’s be clear here. You do need a unique idea, you do need to have something that sets you apart, but you also need to understand that start-ups succeed when they do things a certain way, and they can easily fail when they try and do things their own way. Take a look at any hero’s journey (you can use any story from history or fantasy here) and you’ll see there is a pattern. The hero has a quest, they need to go on a journey to fulfil their quest, they encounter obstacles and conflict, they overcome it all and in the end they are a hero. This is exactly how you should see your role in your start up and you need to realise that there is a right path and a wrong path. When you know what the hero’s journey is, you can follow it.

How to discover your path

So, what exactly is this journey you need to go on with your start-up? The first thing you need to do is research other start-ups and see how the successful ones did it. But that alone might not make it clear to you exactly what they were doing that was so right. It’s all about your attitude to what you are doing. Your product is important to you and so it’s tempting to let this lead your business. But what’s the point in having a great product if you don’t know how your potential customers what you to deliver it. And that’s where the difference is. Successful start-ups all recognise the importance of letting the customer lead the business. After all, your customer is your business. Of course your product is important, but if you don’t give your customer at least equal importance this isn’t going to work.

See your way clearly

By using your customer as the centre of your launch, rather than your product, you can avoid a lot of the usual problems start-ups encounter. Many start-ups find their way on this path accidentally, but if you have the right information you can begin your journey armed with the knowledge of how to walk a clear path forward on your journey and how to fulfil your quest and become that hero.