{"id":3655,"date":"2019-05-13T14:30:26","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T18:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?p=3655"},"modified":"2020-02-26T14:25:08","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T19:25:08","slug":"the-one-attribute-every-founder-needs-to-ignore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/management-leadership\/the-one-attribute-every-founder-needs-to-ignore","title":{"rendered":"The one attribute every founder needs to ignore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Women are starting companies at the rate of about 1,821 per day<\/em>, according to the latest annual State of Women-Owned Businesses <\/a>report, commissioned by American Express, and they now own four out of every 10 businesses in the U.S., according to recent data<\/a> from Women\u2019s Business Enterprise National Council. But that same report found that most female-owned businesses are actually one-woman ventures, and make up just eight percent of all employment and account for only 4.3 percent of total revenues\u2013\u2013not quite the strides one would hope for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how can women grow their genius ideas into profitable companies with a team of people working for them? At a recent panel at WeWork Now<\/a> in New York, Eden Grinshpan, cofounder and executive chef of DEZ, a Middle Eastern fast-casual restaurant; Katia Beauchamp, CEO and founder of beauty and grooming retailer Birchbox; and Maureen Sullivan, COO of Rent the Runway, the subscription clothing rental service, shared their best tips for getting your business off the ground and making it into something bigger than you could have imagined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just start already<\/strong>. For most people with a great business idea, the hardest thing to do is start, says Beauchamp. \u201cOne of the things we did well at Birchbox was to start immediately,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe had the idea one day, and we were pitching it as if it existed within a couple weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t worry about perfecting the product or polishing your business plan, says Sullivan, the former president of AOL.com and Lifestyle Brands. \u201cPerfectionism is the enemy of an entrepreneur,\u201d she says. Instead, \u201cget your product to market as fast as possible,\u201d says Beauchamp. \u201cIt\u2019s like pulling off the Band-Aid.\u201d And accept that this is just stage one. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to look like what\u2019s in your head\u2014yet,\u201d Beauchamp warns. Think of your initial product as the beta stage, and improve on it from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to fail<\/strong>. Succeeding in the business world takes a great deal of passion, and maybe a little craziness, says Grinshpan, who opened DEZ last year. \u201cAny time you take on a new project, especially with food or the restaurant industry, you take a huge risk,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes you\u2019re going to succeed, and sometimes you\u2019re not. But I do believe in failure being a good thing. Failure is a huge motivator to build yourself back up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, FYI, it\u2019s really hard to have exponential growth when things are going great. It can take something truly awful to leap into that next phase. \u201cA big failure is the universe telling you that you wouldn\u2019t be able to take that next step without the tools this situation will give you,\u201d says Beauchamp. Look at your failures\u2014big and small\u2014as a gift that will help you get better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust in your experience (or lack thereof)<\/strong>. Another major hang-up women have when it comes to taking their business to the next level? Thinking they don\u2019t have enough experience. But \u201cthere is no playbook,\u201d says Sullivan. Any experience you\u2019ve had that\u2019s pushed you beyond your boundaries of what is normal or safe is exactly want you want to pull from to succeed in business. \u201cIf you can refine that skill set, then you can be really successful no matter the size and scale of your company,\u201d she says. Companies (and investors!) are looking for people who can excel within complexity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And remember, titles\u2014CEO, inventor, founder, whatever\u2014are just words, and nothing to be intimidated by. \u201cTitles are given to you before you\u2019re ready for them, and you have to rise up to them,\u201d says Grinshpan. \u201cA title just pushes you to work harder.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find the magic\u2014and make it convenient<\/strong>. \u201cAt Rent the Runway, we\u2019re basically trying to reinvent a daily behavior that we\u2019ve all done and will continue doing, by putting magic and joy and fun and all of the sexy words in it,\u201d says Sullivan. But even that\u2019s not enough; today\u2019s customers expect magic and<\/em> overwhelming value and convenience, she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou want to be at the intersection of delight and efficacy,\u201d says Beauchamp. \u201cEven dentists are doing this!\u201d If you have an idea that could have a massive role in someone\u2019s life (go, you!), you need to deliver on two fronts: \u201cThis is so fun,\u201d and \u201cthis is saving me time.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s your customer\u2019s time and money,\u201d says Beauchamp. \u201cIt should be delightful for them to spend it with you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WeWork offers companies of all sizes space solutions that help solve their biggest business challenges.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n