I’d love to retire the phrase “heads down” into the startup lexicon hall of fame (along with “crushing it,” “disrupting,” “killing it” and other older goodies). I still often hear the “we’re heads down for a while now to get this product done” phrase coming from founders’ mouths.
It’s a privilege to coach my three boys and their various sports teams and currently am coaching their basketball teams. When kids are young and just learning to dribble, most of them can only focus on not losing the ball much less passing or shooting.
You can’t find where the basket is or your other teammates on the floor if your head is always down. So with the risk of using the tired sports metaphor here, why should it be any different for startups? When should an entire team cut themselves off from civilization to be as efficient as possible and solely build product for a certain period of time?
Well, building a company is not hiding in a cocoon writing code (as much as some technical founders wish it were so). There is no formula, but growing a company means (yes) building fantastic product but also constantly meeting with customers, suppliers, investors and at times other competitors so everyone can clearly “see the floor.” When I hear “heads down,” that can sometimes be code for not wanting to pick up the phone, set up meetings, get on planes, and nurture relationships that just take time.
Further, a team could be doing all the right things and understand its value proposition but doesn’t have its head up in understanding its pricing and model. I recently had a board meeting with a smart and dedicated team whose sales pipeline and meetings showed they were anything but inert. The team is clearly giving its all. But as we discussed the budget and pricing model for the road ahead, management’s collective head was still down in just getting new logos on the board and not spending time expanding its current customers. Instead of seeking expertise from the board or other founders selling in similar verticals, they were more focused on the play at hand.
Listen, we are all guilty of not keeping our head up and seeing the entire floor. Boy it feels good to check things off the box, to fill the pipeline, to pound out those emails. But if one doesn’t see the road ahead, he or she will ultimately crash into the car in front of them because they weren’t bothering to keep their eyes up. (FYI I’ve crashed into a car in front of me while biking before, head down in my own world of petaling hard and digging in).
Discipline and conviction require all areas of a startup to keep moving in a forward direction, so keep your head up at all times or else you’ll miss opportunities that may not expect.
Recipients of this post are not to construe it as investment, legal, or tax advice, and it is not intended to provide the basis for any evaluation of an investment in any fund. Prospective investors should consult with their own legal, investment, tax, accounting, and other advisors to determine the potential benefits, burdens, and risks associated with making an investment in any fund.
