What is your company's IKIGAI?

I had no clue what Ikigai is until earlier this year. And I learned about it by chance. Since then "destiny" has shown me in so many ways how powerful this concept can be. I realized this year that when we had to go through a transformational pivot of our company, we were more or less following the ikigai method without even realizing it. And today I am writing on the topic as I know this method was what led to our successful story today.

Here's a short ChatGPT definition of ikigai:

Ikigai (生きがい) is a Japanese concept that roughly translates to "a reason for being" or "a reason to get out of bed in the morning." It is a multifaceted concept that combines elements of purpose, passion, vocation, and mission. The idea behind ikigai is to find a balance between four fundamental elements of life:

1. What you love (your passion)
2. What you are good at (your talent or skill)
3. What the world needs (your mission or calling)
4. What you can be paid for (your profession)

When these four elements intersect, you are said to have found your ikigai. It's the sweet spot where you are doing something you love, that you excel at, that makes a positive impact on the world, and that can provide you with a livelihood.

You can learn more on the topic in a Forbes article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrismyers/2018/02/23/how-to-find-your-ikigai-and-transform-your-outlook-on-life-and-business/?sh=4ec540d52ed4

Yet, the intent of my article is not so much focused on the personal ikigai, but rather the company's ikigai. As a CEO and co-founder, I get the chance to speak with numerous other entrepreneurs, founders, and C-level professionals. We all go through moments of doubt. One of the most frequently asked questions is:

Am I leading the company in the right direction and vision?

Especially, when you are not on the growth trajectory yet. Or when your initial idea didn't work out as planned and now you wonder "shall I pivot or shall I quit?"

This is exactly how I felt almost 4 years ago. My co-founders and I started FindMeCure in 2016, our mission was very exciting, our team was incredible, and we were backed by Techstars BUT...our initial business idea was not getting the product-market-fit validation we were expecting at first. This realization is something I need to thank all investors who met me back then and asked me all these hard questions, I should have been asking myself but didn't know at that time.

At this point, I was close to quitting...Yet, what kept me going besides my incredible co-founders were:

• the supportive and smart team
• the existing investors who backed us up
• the thousands of patients whom we were supporting when searching for clinical trials
• the incredible clinical research professionals, the early adopters, who were willing to spend some time with me as they knew that there was a problem and they needed a solution. Maybe not the one we thought, but a different one, as they were all seeing how all clinical trials fail.

I remember very well one day, after the 100th-ish investor meeting when I heard one more time "NO", I was sitting in a coffee shop in London, wondering what to do but determined to pivot. And then on a piece of paper, I started drawing our "ikigai".

Here's how you can draw your COMPANY's IKIGAI. Start by answering these questions:

• Mission: What do we care about as a team? (Our mission)
• Product: What are we best at at this stage? (Our top skills and capabilities)
• Market: What does the world/market need? (And is ready to pay for solving?)
• Strategy: What are our (financial/time/sales/engineering) resources at this stage? (What is the solution we can pull out and distribute with these resources?)

It's essential that you are super direct and transparent when answering these questions. Radical Candor - transparent. Especially on your resources as you can easily follow the "mission" trap and go big without realizing that what you aim to achieve might be cool but someone else is way better positioned to achieve it or this is simply not possible for your current skills and resources.

The best part about ikigai, company or individual, is that if you follow it, you as a team or individual will be working hard. Yet, you will feel much more satisfied (you follow your mission while using your top skills) and results come much easier too (the market has a real need and you have the resources to deliver what they need). It's a win-win situation that we always dream of.

To me, this dream has come true in 2023. Not knowing what I was doing at this London coffee, I managed to bring together the essential pieces of the puzzle for our company. This year we celebrate not just one more year of working towards our milestones but also double more clients, and triple more active TrialHub users while still helping people worldwide with education and information about clinical trials.

I hope this concept inspires you as we end 2023 today to think twice in 2024 about how to navigate your business, team, and career. Which ideas and endeavors to say yes or no to. How to work hard but position yourself for success and satisfaction.

All I wish for all of you is to have a healthy 2024 and follow your ikigai!