Thirdbridge | 12 Tips to Succeed as an Entrepreneur

Thirdbridge celebrates its 12th anniversary!

When we launched our business from my parent’s basement when we were 19 years old, Thirdbridge was far from being the business it is today. Twelve years, sixty employees, over a hundred digital products, and dozens of long-term client relationships later, it's heartwarming to remember the carefree kids we were back then.

Our journey as entrepreneurs has been far from smooth, and it's precisely those turbulent times that have shaped us as professionals and individuals. So, we want to take advantage of our 12th anniversary to humbly share our 12 best tips and lessons for starting a business and, if possible, help you navigate the choppy waters of entrepreneurship.

1. Surround Yourself with the Right People Alone we may go fast, but together we go far. Entrepreneurship demands a broad range of expertise and unwavering determination. For us, it's unequivocally a team effort. We always could and still can rely on the diverse skills and respective experiences of our partners, as well as their support when our motivation is lower or things get tougher.
2. Mission, Vision, Values... It's Not Just Bullsh*t At the beginning of our journey, we may have rolled our eyes a few times when someone would talk about the importance of our company's mission, vision, and values. Our initial cynicism led us to procrastinate on drafting and communicating these concepts. Now that we have them, we see them as guiding lights for the entire company. They motivate most of our decisions, rally our entire team behind our common goals, and quickly explain who we are to someone who doesn't know us.
3. Mixing Family, Friends, and Work Is an Advantage Thirdbridge’s story is initially about friendship and family. It's not uncommon to hear someone say that working with family or friends would be a disaster. For us, it's quite the opposite. From the very beginning, we've always been very open about including as many friends and family members in the project as possible. In our experience, this only strengthens the culture and trust within the company and contributes to our low employee and client turnover rates.
4. Boldness > Humility If you don't promote your skills and expertise, no one else will. Humility can be a noble personality trait, but it can also be counterproductive when it comes to showcasing your expertise. Make some noise, invest in marketing, and put effort into both your company's branding and your own.
5. Seize the moment: There's No Perfect Time to Start If you're looking for excuses, you'll find them. There will never be a perfect moment or an ideal context to take a risk as an entrepreneur. Do your homework, plan accordingly, and trust yourself. The time is now; don't wait any longer to make your dreams a reality.
6. Purpose-driven Growth We often proudly communicate our company's growth. But does this growth truly have value if it's not linked to a specific goal? It's important to take a step back and establish the long-term objectives of the company. Growth will surely be a means to achieve your vision, but you must be careful because growth without purpose can become a dangerous trap.
7. Deliver Financial Value to Your Clients We talk about collaborating, learning, and sharing, but we must not forget that the business world is a capitalist one. Building projects that have a tangible financial impact on your clients and users will always be essential to ensure the sustainability of your company. Design your projects with this objective in mind, implement metrics to track them, and make sure to prove that every dollar invested in you, your product or your services brings back double the return.
8. Embrace Falling on Your A** Every failure is an opportunity to get closer to prosperity. If there's one lesson we've learned through our journey as entrepreneurs, it's that failure is much more instructive than success as long as we learn from our mistakes. The fear of failure is undoubtedly one of the biggest blockers of innovation and entrepreneurship. Making mistakes is healthy and part of the process.
9. Take Nothing and No One for Granted In business, nothing is ever guaranteed. Projects, clients, colleagues, partnerships, and even successes can quickly disappear. That's why it's very important to listen to the people we work with and take the time to nurture our relationships. If you feel like everything is too "stable," ask questions.
10. Set Ambitious Goals Triumph rarely happens in the comfort zone. Set ambitious goals and make a plan to achieve them. When you have bold goals, you push yourself to work hard, push your limits, and, by doing so, contribute to the sustainability of your company.
11. Your network is gold Networking is often talked about in entrepreneurship and for good reason. Every relationship you build has the potential to have a significant impact on your long-term success, even if it's not immediately apparent. When networking, take the time to create authentic and lasting relationships, nurture your relationships, and help others even if there's no short-term gain for you. It always comes back to us sooner or later.
12. Enjoy the Journey The journey is what matters, not the destination. Celebrate your victories, learn from your mistakes, and remember that the path to success is often as, if not more, rewarding than the achievement itself. Looking back, we realize that even in the toughest times, we managed to forge bonds and create memories that we now reminisce about happily.

With entrepreneurship declining in Canada, we think it’s more important than ever to share our experience, and our advice, and, if possible, motivate entrepreneurs to start and persevere in their journey. And if you're still not convinced, just remember this: if a couple of carefree 19-year-old kids like us managed to get where we are today, then surely you can too.