How To Manage A Startup Founded With Close Friends
JourneyNorth Podcast | Season 01 | EP 02
For people who are looking to start your own companies, your inner circle is probably the first group of people who comes to mind. After all, you know your close friends well and it sounds really exciting to work on a project together, right…??
Nicholas started getting exposed to the entrepreneurship scene at the ripe age of 13 years old with his group of friends via a social entrepreneurship program. Today, 12 years later, Nicholas still works closely with that same group of friends in their latest venture, Outside.
Who Is Nicholas Lim?
Nicholas started his entrepreneurship journey with his friends when they were 16, self-learning programming and other key skills while working on a total of seven ideas together. He is a tech startup enthusiast and Co-Founder of Outside, a community app that creates micro earning opportunities for students, housewives and the elderly.
Ability To Deal With Failure Is A Process
Throughout the interview, Nicholas sounded very accustomed to the notion of failure, and didn’t seem to be fazed by failure at all. I was very intrigued by how comfortable he was with the notion of failing that I probed him about it. This is what he said:
People who accept failure are the ones who have failed the most.
Nicholas Lim, Co-Founder & CEO of Outside
Nicholas also mentioned that it was a process. I believe no one likes to fail, and Nicholas only seems comfortable with it because he had been through the process of failing multiple times.
Expectations & Alignment Of Team Members
Since the start of his entrepreneurship journey, Nicholas has been working with his same group of friends. Along the way, they definitely had to sort out many things, especially when different priorities pop up in their lives. While the core team remains, Nicholas has had to deal with friends leaving the company before.
However, the core group of friends cope with it by communicating their expectations to one another. As a team, they are aligned in their goals as well, making it easy for them to cooperate and do what is best for the company.
Personal Thoughts
I was really amazed by how Nicholas got started at such a young age and developed such a “resistance” to failure. It just goes to show how failure might not always be a bad thing. I’ve had people tell me this quote before: “There is no failure, only feedback”.
The next time you face a conundrum due to your fear of failure, think again. You always have a chance of succeeding. Even if you fail, who knows, an opportunity might arise from your failure!
Show Notes:
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Hosted by Marcus Cheu. Connect with me on LinkedIn & Instagram.
If you'd like to tune in to the full episode, you can check out the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Co-Founder, CEO at Inside Technologies
4 年Thanks for the fun session and for this feature, Marcus! ??