Note: This post was written by Ben Schaechter, Founder & CEO of GoPollGo.
Over the span of the last seven months, and especially in the last two months (since GoPollGo's website launched publicly), my time has been sapped. It was expected and I suspect it will only continue to get more rigorous as we move forward. As lead developer and CEO, I have a unique responsibility to complete the majority of work related to the company. On any given day I'm on conference calls, coding, testing, interviewing prospective employees, shooting off emails, meeting with partners, trying to recruit stellar people, and so on. Luckily for me, Phil and Ram, my advisors and partners, are heavily involved and have been through this before to lend constant support, advice and knowledge.
As days flash by, I've noticed the company's greatest resource is my time. This statement isn't meant to be construed as conceited or "holier-than-thou" in any way. Its a fairly typical system: When I work, things get done. When I don't, things don't get done.
Guilt
I have come to notice guilt is a rampant feeling amongst startup founders and early employees. I hang around a crowd of startup founders and usually upon leaving a small social gathering or get-together I hear statements like, "Oh man, you know how guilty I feel for playing cards today?". Yes, feeling guilty. For having fun or chilling out at the expense at the progress of the company.
This guilt is probably pretty valid for a variety of reasons. As someone running a company, I have obligations to my projects, my fellow co-founders, my users, and my employees. Others have this problem exemplified by having investors -- a huge amount of pressure and stress. While a social life is a necessary combatant to burnout, it is often accompanied by a healthy dose of regret for having put off work.
Everyone Needs You
When you're the leader -- you're in charge. Updates to the site need to be reviewed by you. Lawyers need your signatures. Customers and partners want to be reassured by what you have to say. When bugs pop up or your servers crash, your users want you to fix it. Small startups are tough just because of the multitude of inputs being thrown at you. It can be overwhelming at times -- but staying calm and responding quickly and efficiently to everyone usually works best.
I think one of the most important qualities I have as CEO is just having the ability to communicate quickly and easily. I need people to understand me the first time I send the email -- not the 5th or 6th email thread reply. Clearly articulating points and thoughts is something that pays off in terms of quickly resolving problems and moving on to the next.
Immediacy
One of the greatest benefits of a startup is the ability to outmaneuver larger, more awkward bureaucratic organizations. However, this agility requires immediate attention. And you immediate attention will be called upon numerous times per day. My typical day starts at about 8:30AM and goes to 2:30AM. We're hiring a few people soon which will make things a bit more manageable -- but overall, I'm working nonstop on issues that need to be managed as quickly as possible.
A feature isn't working properly? Guess what, that drives users away. And they won't come back. The web is a very unforgiving arena. You've got a few chances to really capture people's attention. Its a constant work in progress, but the faster and harder you work, the sooner you'll get there.
The Bottom Line: Time
What it all comes down to is time. You are constantly working in a ever-changing and evolving atmosphere. Its fun, its demanding, its crazy, and I don't think I'd want it any other way. However, you need to be mentally prepared for devoting your entire focus and will to a project. In the end, though, I really believe those who prevail and keep going and don't give up will come out on top. This really boils down to devotion to your startup.
We're still a really young company and learning lots left and right. I'll revisit this topic in a few more months to see what has changed and what else we've learned.
Want to help us out? We're hiring!