Fit

Very recently, in the second and third week of this month of January, America for Bulgaria foundation kick-started the year by holding their interviews with the candidates shortlisted at this selection stage of their leadership education program - LEAP. Multiple of them approached me for advice beforehand, as I had the privilege to be part, along with 15 other people that I can sincerely call trustworthy friends, of the inaugural edition of the program last year, between April and May 2023.

In a spirit of fairness, the universal advice I aimed to articulate to all was along the lines of:

"Just be yourself, then think if this program is really a good fit for you. And if you sincerely believe so - the only thing that is up to you is to make sure that it shows."

Same thing naturally applies to pitching our startups. In the long term, we really do not want to have been "faking it, till we make it" too hard early on. As entrepreneurs, our first and foremost responsibility is to discover, and later on - start creating, things that really deliver value (i.e. have fit with customers' needs). Then, and only then - to get close to 'perfect' in articulating that value, via whatever medium is required. A good pitch alone would win us some early attention, but if it's not really substantiated afterwards even a stellar performance would fire back, portraying us as nothing more than skillful 'liars'.

It's not uncommon that when we are in a situation of being 'selected', no matter the context - fundraising, accelerator or educational program (like LEAP, in partnership with Babson College and Ascent Leadership Networks, LLC ) selection process, pitching contest, job interview, you name it... our ego naturally seeks validation and recognition. We may even feel envy towards others who have been 'selected (unfairly)' when we are not. In these moments it comes handy to remember that as entrepreneurs, and even more - as pioneers and innovators, we are 'contrarians'. If the things we aim to do were widely recognized and agreeable already, most likely we would have never found them as a huge problem still unsolved, that we can tackle at scale with our venture.

Very importantly, if well designed, these 'selection' processes listed above are actually 'matching' ones, aiming to reveal a mutual fit. The other (offering) party should be a good fit for us as well. Even if it's glamorous and shiny, and/or really meaningful (like LEAP, indeed) it's not for granted that this is the best fit for us.

And even if we've qualified it as a great fit for us that far, but the 'selection' committee can’t appreciate us the way we were, i.e. we are not 'selected' by them, the eventual collaboration with them we've fantasized about would not be a smooth process anyway.

Something that comes handy again, to save our ego and self-esteem, and is actually true, is that "it's just 20% about us, and 80% about them" the 'selectors'. If they don't think they can really help us, it would be wrong, even towards ourselves, to select us. A funny proof of the above percentage distribution is the saying that "when somebody tells us "You can't!" they point at us with just one of their fingers, and at themselves with the other four".

Those who know my lifestyle well enough would also know that I can hardly miss the other meaning of the word 'fit'. Rephrasing the words of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt world champion Caio Terra - it's not about how good you are in the gym, it's about how good the gym is for you!

Of course, the state of having, or not having, a mutual fIt with something may change over time, in both directions. Until then, we better move on with the full awareness that something even better (fitting) is awaiting us, because “what you seek is seeking you” as beautifully stated by Rumi.

The Venture Contemplations is a newsletter where I share my daily reflections on topics moving me as an entrepreneur and lessons learned the hard way, on a dusty but rewarding 15+ year long journey towards making positive impact with Imagga and more recently - Kelvin Health .