Don't process away innovation

The secret sauce that propels a startup from chaotic seedling to sustainable business is typically a potent combination of innovation + drive + ability. This blend, along with a healthy appetite for risk and nimble ducking & weaving along the way, is ultimately what gets you 'over the line'.

There's only one problem. There isn't actually any 'line' to 'get over'. Ambitions grow, goal posts shift, the opportunity and your vision expands. So instead of getting over the line, you find yourself continuously getting over many incremental lines that cumulatively pave the long path of successful growth.

As the pace of growth picks up, the knee jerk reaction is to implement process as a way of managing growth. The early startup days are filled with chaos, blindside bumps and unexpected pivot points. Maturing through that phase leaves you eager to standardise and stabilise as many internal processes as possible. To shift from chaos to relative calm.

Doing so is absolutely crucial. Processes enable you to onboard new hires efficiently. It means you're not constantly reinventing the wheel or chasing your tail. But it also hides a massive risk that can plunge your exciting, innovative startup into stagnation.

Left unchecked, the unbridled implementation of process can quickly become an innovation killer.

In my experience, cultivating innovation + drive + ability across your team, adding a healthy dose of opportunism, whilst simultaneously embracing and disposing of process creates truly great startup success stories.

A little bit of crazy, spontaneity and opportunism keeps innovation alive. Without it your just another business, playing by the rules.