What habits do successful consultants in Startup Development have?

Besides expert knowledge, empathy, patience and a genuine interest are also very important. As someone who consults for startups, I can say for a fact that, it takes more than professional expertise to advice Startups. You've got to put yourself in the mix, wear the hat or the shoe and have a first hand feeling of their trajectory, this is the only way you can properly contextualise their problems and provide practical workable solutions.

Truly understanding a client's problem requires building deep contextual awareness by studying how both internal and external factors shape the startup's challenges. Putting the startup's customer at the center is key. Diving into their customer journey helps align any solutions, whether the challenges are in the back-end, such as operations, or the front-end, like sales, with what I call 'a startup's ultimate need' - gaining and keeping customers. Additionally, the consultant should bring cross-disciplinary thinking - combining insights from diverse fields. It leads to innovative and richer solutions. Finally, as startups exist in a dynamic environment, all problem framing should be adaptable as new information emerges.

Active listening, relevant questioning, and in-depth research ensure a comprehensive grasp of needs and pain points. Data validation and feedback mechanisms fortify assumptions, mitigating biases. Avoiding hasty conclusions, successful consultants foster a collaborative environment, aligning strategies with client-specific contexts for optimal startup development.

For any consultant to work in a start up environment they have to be a lot more empathetic so as to understand the client environment which will ultimately lead to better dissection of the problem being evaluated and to arrive at the solution suiting the client ecosystem. Such an approach will help in creating value to the client engagement and enhanced reputation of the consultant in the market.

Employing visual aids, like charts and prototypes, enhances understanding and retention. Moreover, successful consultants actively seek feedback, fostering a dynamic dialogue. This ensures alignment, resonates with stakeholders, and propels startup development strategies forward.

When working with startups I've found effective communication is about creating a two-way dialogue and building trust by actively incorporating the client's feedback. Emotional intelligence also plays a critical role. As a consultant this enables you to adapt to the emotional landscape of your audience. I use storytelling to transform complex ideas into relatable narratives, making them stick. Cultural sensitivity is non-negotiable in our global landscape, it ensures messages resonate across diverse backgrounds. And most important of all, consistency in messaging across all levels is essential. It reinforces your core message and brand identity in every interaction.

Foresight. That’s my experience of the big value add in consulting with Start Ups. Anticipating the challenges and problems they might face; communicating these to the team; providing structure, metrics etc to navigate forward smoothly. So avoiding things that might otherwise distract or derail the business.

I've found that real value comes from proactive problem-solving by anticipating potential challenges and addressing them proactively. It saves startup clients time and resources, and prevents larger issues down the line. As Charlie Munger used to say: 'An ounce of prevention isn't worth a pound of cure, it’s worth a TON of cure.' As a consultant, I've also focused on identifying gaps and building the startup's internal capabilities, empowering teams to sustain growth independently. While many consultants focus on connecting startups to potential partners, investors, and new opportunities, my contrarian (and minority) view is that networking needs to be a core competence of the startup's founding team and its senior management.

Consultants can be really useful for startups. They should be hyper-focused on producing the desired outcome. I would say it is critical if you have a small team looking to bring in external advice that you bring on former or current founders to help. Running a startup is a process of spinning lots of plates, sometimes it takes a fellow founder to know which plates you should have help spinning and which ones you shouldn't be working on.

By emphasizing impact over process, they align strategies with key metrics, be it revenue, growth, or satisfaction. Demonstrating value, they integrate client feedback for continuous improvement. Seeking testimonials not only validates their expertise but also serves as a powerful testament to their ability to drive tangible success for startups.

Reflecting on experiences, both successes and failures, enhances adaptability. Actively seeking mentorship, connecting with peers, and exploring online courses amplify knowledge. In the dynamic startup landscape, a commitment to ongoing learning not only enriches one's skill set but also ensures relevance and effectiveness as a consultant.

Embracing change as an opportunity fosters continuous growth. Being flexible allows adjustments to client needs and market dynamics. Creativity and experimentation drive the discovery of novel solutions. Successful consultants thrive in uncertainty by leveraging it as a catalyst for improvement. In the startup realm, those who navigate change with agility and foster innovation stand out.

In addition consultants seek to involve all relevant stakeholders during the day to day delivery process. These include the Frontline, support teams right up to Steerco. Frequent reviews are done to ensure processes and people are aligned right from the start thus fostering the basis of the delivery rhythm which should align to organizations vision and purpose, therefore building good foundations to accelerate speed to comp curves.