I chat with many consultants during my busy events schedule. Boston boasts a large number of consultants who are true experts in their areas. But, we also have snake-oil salespeople who love to call themselves business “coaches”, “gurus”, etc. If you are smart, you just smile at them, look for an excuse to run away, take their card, and chuck it the next moment you find a trash can. But, some early stage entrepreneurs fall prey to these vultures. That is part of learning process and natural selection. This article is for those of you with solid expertise and experience getting ready to start your startup consulting career.
Though being an “execution guy” is more of my cup of tea, I do enjoy occasionally performing consulting or advisory work. I decided to write this article to share what I have discovered about startup consulting. I want to save you some time and frustration, so you can focus your talent and efforts on those who truly need and value it.
So, let me make a statement that many seasoned startup consulting pros will agree with: founders in early stages of startups don’t need your help. Why?
- Vast majority of true 1st time entrepreneurs don’t know what they don’t know. With luck, they will start a startup in the area of their expertise. Problem is, just because you are an absolute genius software developer, does not mean you are a great business manager. Unfortunately, you can’t help someone who doesn’t want help.
- Attitude of “let’s wing it” is something that is required for survival in an early stage startup, especially if you are self-funded /bootstrapped. It is many times more expensive to fix the mistakes down the road that are being made in this stage. But, as the saying goes: “the first pancake is always burnt”. I never “chase” first time entrepreneurs in the early stage. Until you have burnt yourself, you will not know the value of good advice or execution.
- Excitement of starting his/her first venture is something that takes over someone’s entire mind. Early stage is a highly emotional stage for vast majority of 1st-timers. It is like that high-school crush. You need to let it pass. In order for them to run their business properly, they need to learn how to control their adrenaline and emotions. Entrepreneurs in this stage need mentors and not consultants.
Bottom line: focus your efforts on people who know the value of your work. There are times when it is not worth it to educate your customer – this is one of those times.
Photo credit: Robert D. Raio
Hi, my name is Apolinaras Sinkevicius, but most call me Apollo. I am the guy who takes care of the day-to-day business and technology of rapidly growing companies. 12 years in managing the "nuts and bolts" of companies and being a steward of corporate cultures makes me a seasoned operations professional and right hand person to founders and CEOs.
I basically agree with the posting. This experience is behind my decision to focus on the “second stage” of a business — the period after a business has been founded when the owners are attempting to make the transition from startup (which can last years!) to a fully-fledged, professionally managed enterprise. That “phase change” in a company is one that many entrepreneurs do recognize as presenting problems. I do have clients I help by working with them to develop a business plan before they actually open the doors, but once they start they insist on (and probably should be) left alone for a few years to learn and make their own painful mistakes.
@Wayne, I think even for their business plan portion they should do it themselves (though I do think full business plan is a waste of time). There is a certain amount of bravado a 1st-timer needs to mature out of to be a good client for a consultant.
Also, many startups (no matter what stage) will never be good fit for a consulting relationship… but that is another subject I may write about some day.
“Vast majority of true 1st time entrepreneurs don’t know what they don’t know.” Could not agree more. As history has proven so many times – it pays to be to green.
Maybe I am not reading you right. What do you mean by “it pays to be to green”?