Bob Tinker's Guide to Building a Business: Lessons from a Mobile Pioneer's Entrepreneurial Journey

In a captivating talk at Stanford Universityin 2017, Bob Tinker, founding CEO of MobileIron, shared invaluable insights and lessons learned from his eight-year entrepreneurial journey growing the mobile security company from a small startup to a publicly-traded industry leader. His candid reflections and practical advice provide a roadmap for aspiring founders navigating the challenging yet rewarding path of building a business.

Lesson 1: Embrace Change as Your Company Grows

One of the key messages is that success inevitably leads to change, and founders must be prepared to evolve and adapt as their company grows. MobileIron hit major inflection points at 50, 150, 450 and 750 employees where "stuff breaks" and what worked before suddenly stops working. These critical junctures demand that leaders reassess their strategies, processes, and even their own leadership approach to ensure the company can continue to scale and thrive.

"Every time you add a new layer into the company, a new layer of management, stuff changes," he said. "And things that used to work no longer work. Clearly you can't keep doing what you were doing before and hope it works. You need to figure out the hard part - what are the things you need to keep and keep doing the same way? And what are the things you need to change?"

This introspection and willingness to adapt is essential for navigating the complex challenges that arise as a startup matures. Founders must be willing to let go of what's no longer working, even if those strategies or tactics were key to earlier success. They must also have the wisdom to recognize what core aspects of the business should remain constant, serving as the foundation for future growth.

Lesson 2: Evolve Your Leadership Style as the Company Scales

Just as the company must evolve through growth stages, so too must the role and focus of the CEO. The job transforms through three distinct phases - from early stage "Captain America" working in the trenches alongside a small team, to leading a band of functional "superheroes" as the Avengers, to serving as a "Professor Xavier" overseeing an organization of nearly 1,000. Each phase requires a different set of skills, time allocation, and leadership style to meet the needs of the company at that particular stage.

In the startup's early days, the CEO is deeply involved in every aspect of the business, from product development to customer acquisition to fundraising. As the company grows, the CEO must learn to delegate and empower others, trusting their team to execute while they focus on strategic direction and building the organization. At the later stages, the CEO's role shifts to architecting the company's long-term vision, coaching and mentoring leaders, and serving as the public face of the brand.

Making these transitions is "hard, actually really, really, really hard," he admitted. "It's like rewiring your plane while you're trying to fly it." Self-awareness, being open to change, and putting the company and mission above ego are crucial. In a powerful Founder's Oath, he stated: "It's about the mission, not me or my ego. And I promise to do my best to separate my ego from the business."

This pledge underscores the importance of humility and servant leadership in scaling a successful company. Founders must be willing to sublimate their own egos and make decisions based on what's best for the business, even if it means ceding control or admitting personal limitations. They must also cultivate a deep sense of self-awareness, seeking out candid feedback, acknowledging blind spots and continually evolving as leaders.

Lesson 3: Achieve Go-to-Market Fit, Not Just Product-Market Fit

Another major lesson imparted is that building a successful business requires much more than building a great product. While achieving product-market fit is an important milestone, it is not sufficient for growth. The critical missing link is go-to-market fit - figuring out the right sales model, developing a repeatable marketing and sales playbook, and aligning to a problem that creates customer urgency. Only by nailing both product-market fit and go-to-market fit can a startup unlock momentum and growth.

Far too many startups fail because they focus solely on building an innovative product without equal attention to the go-to-market strategy. They may have a product that solves a real problem, but struggle to effectively bring that product to market, acquire customers and drive sustainable revenue growth. Investing time upfront to deeply understand target buyers, identify the most effective channels and craft compelling messaging can make the difference between a startup that stalls and one that scales.

Lesson 4: Deliberately Cultivate Your Culture from Day One

Deliberately cultivating company culture starting from day one is also vital. In MobileIron's first week, the founders discussed "what type of culture do we wanna have" and defined five core tenets: "We and our customers win together"; "Intellectual honesty"; "Be accountable to each other"; "We're smart and intense"; and "Be frugal." This exercise of articulating shared values and behavioral norms helps establish a strong cultural foundation that can guide the company as it grows.

But codifying values is not enough - culture must be actively brought to life through real language, using it to guide decisions, and reinforcing it through actions. Leaders must regularly communicate and exemplify the company's core values, weaving them into the fabric of everyday operations. When faced with difficult decisions or competing priorities, the company's values should serve as a moral compass, ensuring choices align with the startup's identity and long-term goals.

Company traditions and lore, like how every MobileIron employee received a red Swingline stapler tying back to the movie Office Space, can also help bind a team together. These shared rituals and stories create a sense of belonging, reminding employees that they are part of something unique and meaningful. As the company grows, finding ways to preserve and adapt these traditions can help maintain a tight-knit, mission-driven culture even as the organization becomes larger and more geographically dispersed.

Lesson 5: Have the Courage to Skate Where the Puck is Going

Perhaps the most profound wisdom offered was that pursuing something "uncool" can eventually lead to something extremely cool and meaningful. The enterprise technology sector is on the cusp of a trillion-dollar renaissance as cloud, mobile, AI and other innovations reinvent how work gets done. While enterprise software may lack the mainstream buzz and glamour of consumer apps, it offers massive opportunities for startups to tackle complex problems and have far-reaching impact.

Founders should have the courage to start on something before it's obvious, echoing hockey great Wayne Gretzky's famous quote about "skating to where the puck is going, not where it is." This means having the vision to anticipate future trends and customer needs, and the conviction to build towards that future even if the market isn't quite there yet. It requires a delicate balance of timing - being early enough to shape the direction of a nascent industry but not so early that you exhaust resources before the market catches up.

Lesson 6: Take the Leap and Enjoy the Ride

The talk closed with powerful life advice that transcends the business world. Recounting wisdom from a skydiving instructor, the audience was urged to "have courage and jump" when pursuing their dreams, even when every bone is screaming not to. This leap of faith is the essence of entrepreneurship - mustering the guts to take a risk and commit fully to making an idea a reality, despite the enormity of the challenge ahead.

And amidst the inevitable smoke, noise and adrenaline of the startup rollercoaster, founders were implored to "slow your brain down and take mental pictures" to savor the journey. Building a company is an intense, all-consuming endeavor that can be both exhilarating and exhausting. Making a conscious effort to be present, grateful and reflective - to appreciate how far you've come and the relationships you've forged - is essential for maintaining motivation and perspective in the face of adversity.

Tinker's talk offers a treasure trove of insights for entrepreneurial Stanford students and anyone bold enough to build a business. His hard-earned lessons, practical advice and vulnerable reflections illuminate both the daunting obstacles and immeasurable rewards of the startup path. Launching and leading a successful company requires a rare alchemy of vision, resilience, adaptability and humility. It means pushing yourself to grow as a leader and human being while constantly evolving the business to meet the demands of each new stage.

Aspiring entrepreneurs across all industries would be wise to heed this battle-tested wisdom as they pursue their own dreams of building something that matters. The journey is guaranteed to be a wild, unpredictable ride - but with the right mindset, team and strategies, it's possible to turn an audacious idea into a thriving business that makes a real difference in the world. As Tinker's story illustrates, the founder's path is not for the faint of heart - but for those courageous enough to take the leap, the potential for learning, impact and fulfillment is truly extraordinary.

You can enjoy the full interview on YouTube by following this link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG-27xXiAM8&t=467