Page 75 - 6 Secrets to Startup Success

54 6 SECRETS TO STARTUP SUCCESS

I wanted to be prepared mentally, so I spent that time learning as
much as I could at my current job.”

Similarly, long before Mark Kahn’s three-day winning streak in
the French casino, he prepared himself for his entrepreneurial leap.
Over eight years, he rotated through a series of increasingly challeng-
ing digital media jobs in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, a
global media juggernaut built in the image of its entrepreneurial
founder. “It was really a great proving ground to be part of that,” he
recalls, “with this spirit of entrepreneurship living in every operating
unit. Even though there were hundreds of operating units, each one
sort of lived on its own and acted as though it was a startup company.”
During those eight years, he gained experience in a broad range of
disciplines, including technology, marketing, corporate finance, and
general management. When Mark left the company in 1998 to build
a family of e-commerce sites on the early Web, his former boss, a ris-
ing News Corp. executive named Chris Holden—the one who had
stood beside him in the casino, shocked and bemused, as he won an
unexpected $72,000 in startup cash—watched his venture with inter-
est. He knew Mark Kahn would bring a rare blend of intelligence,
drive, and skill to his startup challenge.

Few aspiring entrepreneurs bring the high level of relevant expe-
rience and preparation of a J.C. Faulkner or a Mark Kahn. In fact, most
founders plunge forward with more haste than preparation, injecting
unnecessary risk and challenge in to their startup path. These cases
underscore a set of truths that stand out to me after years of partici-
pating in and studying new venture creation:

9 Founder readiness makes a difference. A founder’s (or found-
ing team’s) level of fitness and preparation directly and sig-
nificantly impacts startup success or failure.

9 No founder is a perfect fit for his or her chosen startup. There-
fore, every founder can improve on level of readiness and
odds of success.

9 Founder readiness is an ongoing challenge. All entrepreneurs
can and should continually evaluate and improve their fitness
to lead their company forward.

American Management Association • www.amanet.org