Let's Get Back to Our Why

We need to get back to building the startup that inspired us to begin with — we need to get back to our "Why."

Part of the Founder journey, really for all of us, starts with this amazing inspirational period of hopes and dreams, where we have this idea that we just can't wait to bring into the world. At that moment, all rationale and reason give way to exuberance and optimism — we become completely and utterly intoxicated with what's possible — and it's incredible!

At that very moment, we are filled to the brim with our "Why." Our "Why" is the entire purpose of building our startup. It's different for all of us, but it typically is a combination of personal goals, product vision, and desire to put a little dent in the universe. If you talk to a Founder in their first year of starting a company, the "Why" is on full display like it's no one's business because frankly, nothing else gets in the way.

Well, that's until life happens.

How Our "Why" Gets Diluted

Look, you already know where this is going because you've lived it. We all have. Once we actually launch our startup, all of our big plans and visions quickly get replaced with a ton of bullshit.

Now, instead of thinking about how we're going to change the world, we're thinking about how we're going to woo investors. Instead of building an amazing product, we're trying to learn how to build a four-year financial projection. What used to be brainstorming sessions talking about great ideas are now meetings talking about upcoming meetings.

Our time and effort shift from the inspiration of what drove us to build the product (Why) to the drudgery of what it takes to actually build it. Within these mechanics are a million little distractions that chip away at our focus on why we were even building this company in the first place.

We didn't build this company so we could schedule more meetings about meetings; we built it for our core "Why," which starts getting lost. Every time we add another person or build another process, the core mission of our "Why" gets diluted a little bit further. This is where the separation begins.

When "Why" Gets Buried

There's a point where Why not only gets lost — it gets buried. And that's where things are most concerning, particularly for us Founders. That's the point where the reason we built this company isn't even apparent anymore.

Ask a Founder out trying to beg, borrow, and steal money to make their next payroll whether they are thinking about their "Why," and they will look at you like you've you're insane. At some point, our "Why," the very inspiration that caused us to start this whole thing, to begin with, becomes a luxury item that gets replaced with nothing more than a survival instinct.

We become far more focused on monthly metrics and board presentations than building a company that was supposed to make a dent in the universe. We worry more about what an investment round will do to our bank account than what this company is doing to our well-being. We look around and realize all of our time is being spent doing things that have nothing to do with why we started this company to begin with.

WTF happened?

How do We Get Our Why Back?

It's not easy, but it's not impossible, my friends. It all starts with a simple question "Why did we start this thing to begin with?" Go back to that very moment of inception. What were those hopes and dreams? It's time to change course. We need to look at the people, processes, and decisions we made that took us so far off course and right the ship.

This company was supposed to create a better life for us. It was supposed to create beautiful products. It was supposed to make a dent in the universe. That was our "Why," and somewhere along the way, we may have lost that purpose — it happens. But it's our job as leaders, as Founders, to reclaim that purpose and re-plant that flag.

We can stand here and let our companies run us, or we can make a stand and run our companies the way they were meant to be run — with our "Why" and with our purpose. The choice is ours.

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Wil Schroter

Wil Schroter is the?Founder + CEO @ Startups.com, a startup platform that includes Bizplan, Clarity, Fundable, Launchrock, and Zirtual. He started his first company at age 19 which grew to over $700 million in billings within 5 years?(despite his involvement).?After that he launched 8 more companies, the last 3 venture-backed, to refine his learning of what not to do. He's?a seasoned expert at starting companies and a total amateur at everything else.