‘Have I gone too far?’ How founders can beat their startup demons

No founder achieves greatness without getting spooked along the way.

So the challenge is how you vanquish those demons, with the right ghostbusters by your side, that makes all the difference.

Funding and customer growth may be the loudest concerns we hear from startups, but there’s a lot more happening beneath the surface that should be acknowledged.

Pauline Fetaui, director at ACS Labs, sees a range of similar, deep-seated demons affecting founders at all stages of their growth.

“A lot of founders have the knowledge within. We actually know what we need to do, and we have some level of intuition to guide us along the way, and we get feedback on that,” Fetaui explains.

“You know, there are mirrors everywhere to explain to us what we should be doing. The problem is when you have this audacious goal and that pressure and burden of wanting to solve something quite big, you kind of lose your navigation at points.”

Haunting the house

It’s usually a combination of factors rather than one single thing that puts founders at a crossroads.

“When a company or founders are going through the process of, ‘OK, I have an MVP I’m about to take to market. I’ve started here. I did X, Y, Z. I’ve tested in three markets. I’m not getting the result that I thought’,” Fetaui says.

“They have the demons of ‘Should I give up?’ ‘Have I done the right thing?’ ‘Have I gone too far?’ ‘What am I missing?’

“There’s a lot of stigma in the highlight reel that exists in the startup ecosystem globally, and that pressure of wanting to achieve the goal that you set out to do and not meeting other people’s expectations based on that highlight reel.”

It’s said that comparison is the thief of joy, but it’s not just about how you compare yourself to others. It’s how you bear the weight of your own expectations of self.

“There’s the personal burden of having to keep something afloat potentially with extremely poor cash flow, and a lot of sacrifice not only in your professional life, as you’re going out to do this thing and take a risk. But also in your personal life – potentially your mortgage or your family and time,” Fetaui explains.

“All of that coming together is what keeps founders up at night.”

Community as antidote

The ACS Labs boss emphasises holistic thinking to build founder fitness. And like everyone striving for a goal, having a team makes it easier than dealing with it on your own.

“We’re helping all the parts of that human. Not just the part as it relates to hitting their next milestone,” Fetaui explains.

“If they’re fully fit and conditioned and abled and supported and have the infrastructure of a team behind them – which may be their mentors, not necessarily an actual team –  that’s the kind of stuff we’ve got to support.”

This approach is core to the accelerators and programs run by ACS, a not-for-profit organisation supporting innovators and entrepreneurs with scaling and commercialising their tech.

Over the past 12 years, ACS Labs has established itself as a leading incubator for emerging tech companies across Australia. The Labs community spans both early-stage startups and mature scaleups – companies as diverse as weather intelligence software Floodmapp, digital freight forwarder Explorate and digital cardiac rehab platform Cardihab.

The Labs has helped more than 1000 startups through hubs in Brisbane at River City Labs, Sydney at Harbour City Labs, the Sunshine Coast at Ocean City Labs, as well as flagship events like Something Tech. and RiverRival.

Recently, the Labs opened up its virtual platform nationally to founders looking to access resources and connect with mentors, talent, partners and industry leaders. Every quarter, applications open for access to the Labs startup services, which include their six-week Accelerator Kickstarter program and one-on-one mentoring with industry leaders.

“We buddy the founder with an EIR [Entrepreneur In Residence] or a MIR [Mentor In Residence]. They get matched to that person based on that person’s experience, capability, background, and their capability to support them in their next quarter,” Fetaui says.

“The way we matchmake and the way we design the program is to meet the founder where they’re at. So it’s truly a unique experience.”

Something Tech is the digital, innovation and technology festival part of Something Fest. Image: Supplied.

“Matchmaking” to be match fit

As “matchmakers for startups”, the Labs tailors its mentorship and accelerator programs to founders’ problem areas – whether that be related to people, market, product or customer, or all of the above.

“What they’re struggling with is their go-to market, their business models, and how to crack the sale,” she shares.

“Some founders are quite technical, so it’s the part they struggle with or maybe just don’t have the confidence in, therefore they need to be attached to someone to shepherd them through is in the commercialisation pathway to get into market and get a client.

“That’s the biggest thing that we’re seeing and it’s something that we’re designed to work with and support.”

There’s another type of founder increasingly coming through the door – the industry or business mind who needs help navigating the tech landscape.

“They’re industry experts,” she says. “They’re there to look for the more technical support because we have some amazing technical mentors and entrepreneurs who are both technical and super industry.”

Different journeys, same demons. The support’s there if you need it.

Apply to join the Labs cohort here. Members get access to the Accelerator Kickstarter program, mentoring, exclusive resources and event invites and $200,000 worth of partner perks, including free accounting services.

This article is brought to you by Startup Daily in partnership with ACS Labs.