Being A Great Founder Series: Potential

Being A Great Founder Series: Potential 🎯

Happy 2024! I’m gearing up for a fantastic year of helping our amazing portfolio companies reach their full potential. You might be working on that New Year’s resolution to reach your full potential too this year. If you’re thinking about turning your business idea into a full-blown company, keep reading for some wisdom on how potential is a key element of a great founder. And be sure to check out my bestselling book, Build the Damn Thing, on Amazon.

Potential
Everyone has the next “great idea” for building a company. But an idea alone doesn't magically define your potential to create a killer company. In the business world, potential is all about having the skills to turn your lightbulb moment into a reality.

Now, when it comes to building a company, there are two types of smarts you need. First, there's your domain knowledge–that's your fancy education and professional expertise. Then, there's your social knowledge–basically, your street-smart experience as a customer or product user. 

Take Juno Medical, a value-based health care platform that provides a one-stop office for pediatrics, women’s health, mental health, and primary care. As a surgeon and former lead for McKinsey’s value-based care practice, founder Akili Hinson clearly had the domain knowledge and background to run a health care platform. But he was inspired to found Juno due to his experience as a consumer, as he and his wife–also a physician–had to travel between multiple New York City neighborhoods in search of the best care for their own family. This firsthand knowledge meant that he had a much better sense of what customers needed from a health care practice.

Out in the World 🌍

Get ready for Season 3 of the Build The Damn Thing podcast! Drawn from my bestselling book, Build the Damn Thing, the podcast is designed to teach you how to take your business to the next level. You can listen to the newest season starting January 31 on Apple Podcasts, Audible, and Spotify! And if you missed last season, check out episodes on Leaning Into Your Purpose, How to Mentally Prepare for Entrepreneurship, and How to Build Your Personal Advisory Board. 

If you're gearing up to build a business, you should aim for an industry where you already have existing knowledge, or where you can get the lay of the land quickly. Especially if you're a new Builder, you need to focus on an idea where you can tap into your existing network and knowledge base. For example, when Hafeezah Muhammad began her pediatric mental health company, Backpack Healthcare (formerly Youme Healthcare), she already had experience in the industry as vice president of sales and customer experience for Thriveworks, one of the largest mental health companies in the U.S.

I've been down this road, and having a killer network with years of entrepreneur and investor experience helped me raise for my startups. You can learn more about my experience in my podcast episode, How To Build An Amazing Team. Before I even announced my latest venture, I had an awesome team in place, hand-picked from the fantastic folks I met while hustling on my other ventures. Plus, having that experience helped me spot and solve challenges like a seasoned pro.

If you've got a fantastic idea but no experience in the industry, think about teaming up. The bulk of startups have two founders: one for the business and marketing tasks and one for technical knowledge of the product and industry. And if you can’t find a partner and lack experience in your idea’s industry, you might want to take a step back and reconsider if this idea is really right for you.

Make this the year that you start chasing your dreams. If you’re serious about being a Builder, this is the time to dive in. Next month’s newsletter will have more on the ingredients it takes to make a great founder. If you don’t want to wait, you can order my bestselling book, Build the Damn Thing, on Amazon.

Build the Damn Thing!

Kathryn