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Sometimes tough love is needed, and this is one of those times. As the founder of a food and beverage brand, you’ve taken on a challenging journey. You’ll face many obstacles, hear many “no’s,” and find that things progress more slowly than you expected. It’s easy to fall into the trap of blaming others. But honestly, those who blame don’t succeed, while those who take responsibility do.
I see this play out far too often. A part of its cause is the nature of most early-stage teams that are constructed of full-time inexperience and fractionalized expertise. This reality requires that founders hold themselves accountable for taking the needed action. Let me explain.
I will begin with full-time inexperience since it is quite straightforward. Usually, the full-time employees you hire will be new to the field. You often can’t hire the experienced industry expert. These team members are helpful for managing the workload, but they have significant gaps in their skills. It’s important to recognize the limits of those gaps and how they may affect their performance.
Those more likely to prove challenging are the fractionalized members of your team. These are your brokers, consultants, advisors, lawyers, marketing agencies and more. These are the folks who come with extensive experience, proven track records, large networks, and very developed skill sets. You need to lean into what they bring to the table and hold them accountable. But don’t forget, they’re fractionalized. This is what they do for a living. They leverage their capabilities across many brands. By nature, their energy and focus are not singular. Having them is vital but understanding the boundaries of such an arrangement is equally so.
Brokers are a great example. What they do is in their title. They broker a relationship between customer and brand. However, if it’s a customer who you really want or need you have to take action and ownership. Don’t just pin your hopes on your broker then blame them when it doesn’t happen. That’s being a victim instead of a champion. It is similar when it comes to your consumers. You must make the time to get to know them and be out with them where they find and buy your products. Data and Instagram posts won’t provide the same insight or create the same connection.
Whether it’s investors, customers, or consumers, you can’t leave it to others to make it happen for you. You own your outcome. Take action, utilize the experience, networks, and skills of your fractionalized team members but don’t cede your responsibility to them. There is no replacement for your passion, and it is ultimately up to you.
My teammate, Waven, describes it best. All of us, your fractionalized team, are like Sherpas. We do everything in our power to get you up the mountain but, we can’t climb for you. You must be willing to do the hard work of pulling yourself up, crossing the chasms, and navigating the hazards. You must train, prepare yourself mentally and risk failure. When you eventually arrive at the summit, exhausted both mentally and physically, the glory is all yours and no one owns it but you.