Every founder has a bad day. The pilot doesn’t work, the term sheet falls through, the hire leaves. So we always ask: what’s the line you come back to when it gets hard?
Here are the answers to keep coming back to:
When it feels impossible
“If it was easy, somebody else would have done it.”
Samantha Anderson, CEO & Co-founder, DePoly
“It wouldn’t be worth doing if it wasn’t difficult.”
Ash Stott, Co-founder, Rhizo
When we asked Abijit Aji for the habit that gets him through a big deal, he answered in one word: “Perseverance.” His mantra for a high-stakes negotiation is borrowed from Carl Sagan: “If you want to make apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
When you need to hit reset
“Fail quick and fail cheap, and we will only be mad if you blame someone else. If today has been a tough day, go home and push the reset button – tomorrow must be better. If it is not, lather/rinse/repeat.”
Michael Oster, Ionic
Matthias Friese of XPRESS Ventures keeps it to two words: “Fail forward.”
“Find reasons to be cheerful. It might have been great before, but if it’s terrible today, deal with today… Do all your whining and get as upset and wound up as you feel like, but at the end of the day, no matter how bad it is, find reasons to be cheerful, find something you can improve.”
Chris Rea, AESSEAL
When the road is long
“Slowly, slowly catch your monkey.”
Andres Anijalg, Roofit.Solar
A Malaysian saying, Andres told us, that has guided him for 15 years.
Sævar Einarsson of Flexdrill says something similar in engineer’s language: “One step at a time. I like thinking in modules, where I can break down a seemingly unachievable goal into clearly defined criteria for success.”
Santiago de los Reyes took his from Atomic Habits: “everyday is 1% more.”
And Anthony Agnew puts it plainly: “Do the hard thing first. I think the most important thing is just to do the next thing, whatever is in front of you, just take that step and keep going.”
When you need courage
“What if we fail? Right – but what if we fly?”
Benny Shoham, Co-founder & CEO, SCUDOdoc
“You’re as ready now as you ever will be.”
Moby Ahmed, Co-founder, Ambercycle
“Be stubborn on vision, flexible on the details.”
Babajide Oluwase, EcoTutu
Ansie van Dyk, who is building off-grid homes in South Africa, finds courage in other founders: “There are founders already doing this in harder conditions than mine. If they found a way, I can find a way.”
And Cory Sanderson of Sustaera: “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”
When you need perspective
“Be involved in missions that are bigger and more important than you are. If this is the case, you will never give up and never want to stop, you will recover quickly and make sure you do what you have to do.”
Yaky Yanay, CEO, Pluri
Jop Blom: “The best way to predict a better future is to create it.” Ben Brown of Going Green Media: “Leave the earth better than you found it.” Jerome Cochet of Goodcarbon: “I’m an optimist by nature – that’s my mantra – ‘in the end, things will be alright.’”
Josh Domingues, founder of Flashfood, has his tattooed on his arm: hold on to happiness. It was a song on his late sister-in-law’s playlist.
“You’ll have ups and downs, there’re going to be good times, there’re going to be awful times, but you decide the outlook you have in any situation and even when things get really difficult with the business; take a step back. Remember that we’re trying to do a really hard thing and we’re trying our best.”
Josh Domingues, Founder & CEO, Flashfood
Mitchell Possada of High Impact Capital Partners measures success differently: “Leave a wake of smiles, laughs, and people feeling loved.”
And one of my favourites, from Jacob Tompkins, co-founder of the Water Retail Company: “‘That’ll Do, Pig.’ Which is what the farmer says to Pig when he’s rounded up the sheep and done a decent job. To me, it sums up contentment and playing your part.”
Find yours
Most of these lines aren’t clever. They’re just true, and short enough to remember on a bad day. If you don’t have one yet, borrow one of these until you find your own.
What keeps you going, how you switch off, and the line you come back to when it gets hard?These are questions we always ask, because we know being a climate founder is one of the most rewarding, but also one of the toughest jobs there is.
Building in climate? Tell us your story, and your answer could help the next founder through a hard week.
