As a founder you face hundreds of decisions daily, which is why defining your principles is essential. They’re more than a few nice words for your onboarding material, they’re a framework that helps you navigate the complexities of building a company with consistency and purpose.
Back in 2017 when we founded Stravito, my co-founders and I set our core values, and it has truly made all the difference. Those guiding principles have helped us attract top global brands, raise €20M, and get on the fast track to cash flow breakeven.
We wouldn’t be where we are today if not for three seemingly simple but operationally — and emotionally — challenging principles. Here’s our framework for others to use as inspiration or build upon:
Principle #1: Put the customer in the center — first, last and always.
Our primary objective is to operate with a customer-first mindset. This forces us to double down on a few things that truly benefit clients, and to keep the basis of our offerings as uncomplicated and effective as possible.
We hear it all the time, but it is not easy to keep customers front and center when there are often so many competing forces. For example, it’s easy to get excited for creative, fancy ideas about what we want to build — and teams often fall in love with these ideas — but it can be a massive distraction. At the same time, entrepreneurs should be careful not to over-index on building for a single customer.
So, my advice is to build something as client-agnostic and as scalable as possible — and then complement it with services to meet very specific client needs. In other words, build for the universal and market for the customized.
Principle #2: Company values must remain top of mind, at all times.
As a startup founder, you will feel a tug of war between your values and expedience, regardless if you’ve clearly identified your values or not.
The first step is to identify your unshakable values and then live them every single day in your journey as a founder. A focus on values may be difficult to achieve under all the strategic and operational pressures of running a startup, but that makes them all the more important. They’re tools to guide you in these tough decisions, and make you more sensitive to the principles and motivations of your business partners, which include your venture investors.
So look for investors who share your values. It can be easy to get carried away by flattery, or by getting interest from reputable, top-tier investors. But if they don’t align with how your company operates, they are not the right investors for you. Accepting an investment with high-pressure growth expectations, resulting in a “growth at all costs” culture, might harm more than help.
At Stravito, that meant not pursuing discussions with some fantastic funds because we didn’t think we were the right match for them. It doesn’t mean that one of us was right or wrong, but simply that we operated on fundamentally different principles and beliefs. Your startup only has one life, so make sure your funding partner shares your business goals and values.
Principle #3: Stay anchored — maintain business focus with expert guidance
My last principle relates to focus, and the importance of it. As a business grows and new ideas and avenues are presented, it is easy to veer off in different directions. But, my advice is to keep your chosen niche front of mind and stay ruthlessly focused on it. Doing so ensures you don’t spread yourself too thin and lose crucial momentum.
At Stravito, we have picked a very particular niche. We are focused on Insights teams within the enterprise, and serving the Fortune 2000. To stay relentlessly committed to this, we are constantly joining forces with enterprise-focused operators that can help guide us in our field.
For example, one of our board members is Elaine Rodrigo, an established C-level insights professional, who can help us ensure we continue solving real problems for our customers. Another is Mike Laven, an enterprise SaaS leader with a proven track record of scaling tech companies, who can draw upon his experiences to advise on our ambitious growth trajectory. What’s more, I make it mandatory that I speak with at least one VC fund per week, establishing new relationships to introduce Stravito and gather insights about the industry. I put time into this because everyone makes mistakes, but if you know the ropes and have seen or heard of the traps, you are less likely to stumble.
So, if it is your first rodeo, my advice is, try to find mentors, advisors or board members that solve problems similar to the ones you have on your horizon.
Ultimately, by staying true to their principles, and surrounding themselves with the right people, founders can set themselves up for responsible and resilient growth in every market environment.
