Your #startup needs experienced trek guides

I just got back from a three-day backpacking trip at the Philmont Scout Ranch with adult Scout leaders.?

We hiked 21 miles, gained 2000 ft of elevation and had to pack in and out everything. Our packs ranged from 40-50 lbs depending on how much water we were carrying. BTW 1L of water weighs 2.2lbs and sometimes we were carrying 4L.? I learned to only carry the water I needed until the next stream or lake.

We had two guides who came with us to show us how to use the outdoor toilets, cook, clean, hang bear bags, dispose of food waste environmentally, and make sure we were on the right trails, especially at crossroads or unmarked intersections.

As we were hiking, I thought going from a #startup idea to a business is much like a backcountry trip.? You need to prepare the right provisions (computing power, equipment, apps, tools, etc), make sure you have enough food (funding), have enough hikers for the load (employees), a map of the trail (Pre-seed to Series X) and guides to show you best practices and keep you on the trek.

Many startups get on the trail without a full map or guides. They will have board members and advisors but these people are not on the trail with you. They might provide you a map or help you course correct when you are 2 miles off trail but don’t teach you the smaller aspects of building a startup or tell you where to go when you hit unmarked intersections, which you will encounter daily.

I believe more startups need to pay for experienced guides, who have been on various trails, seen obstacles and overcame them, know best practices, and can quickly move your startup forward without guestwork.? Experience = speed for startups

On a trek or at startups, time is not your friend. It will get dark on the trail (no customers), or you run out of food or water (funding). Maybe you ate too much and did not ration your food correctly (high burn rate) before the next provisioning station (funding round). You need experienced guides to quickly get you to the next provisioning station, help you ration your food and not let a bear steal your food (competitors).

However, you will not need guides forever, right?? You will learn, gain experience, and have processes set up to finish the trek. For BSA Scouts on a 12-day trek at Philmont, the guides are only there for the first 3 days and then leave the crew to fend for themselves for the rest of the 9 days and get back to base.

Hiring experienced guides for your startup will get you farther and faster on your trek than going it alone. Find #fractionalexecutives who have been on multiple trails and treks to help you build your business, until you are confident and have the experience to go it on your own.? It is worth the temporary cost.

See the pros and cons of #fractionalmarketer vs full-time marketing.