My youngest son is ten, which coincides with Acuity being ten years old

Rescuing our dog, Gus, from one of the many rehoming centres in Spain that work tirelessly to provide a better life for animals has been such a rewarding but incredibly challenging experience. The vision of ‘cute and cuddly’ versus the reality was stark. The ups and downs, the progression and then the regression, the tears, and the laughter… But the most rewarding of all is the hindsight and seeing the changes in Gus as he tackles his own journey of adapting to life with us and all the joy he has brought to our family.  

Starting my own company draws so many parallels with getting Gus. Another roller coaster journey that once we had started, we could not, or rather did not want to, get off. Whether that was because of naivety, finances, or my pride I am not sure…a mixture of all three. 

Every year I am prompted to reflect on the Acuity journey by the glowing reminder atop my youngest son’s birthday cake and this year they both turned 10, a milestone that has crept up on me on both counts. Where has the time gone?  

I have asked many questions of other entrepreneurs over these 10 years, taking small nuggets of their experience and wisdom as I quickly learnt that I do not have all the answers. So, in the hope I can help others starting out on their journey I have reflected on the Top 10 ‘tips’ that I have heard or read over the years. 

1. Good people make great companies: Yes, they do. But I have learnt not to be dazzled by the super experienced or the super clever. They are not always the best fit. There are other qualities you can look for when it comes to recruiting which can be just as enabling for your business. I have been reminded this year by our team in Ukraine how positivity can overcome adversity. (They are simply amazing by the way….!) 
2. Know your exit strategy: Yes, this does need consideration, of course, as you will be asked many times over by your team, by your financial advisors and a lot of people in between. But there is nothing wrong with enjoying the journey for a while too. By placing too much focus on the future and the potential value of your company can be distracting. 
3. Surround yourself with like-minded people: I strongly disagree with this one. Understanding and being honest about my weaknesses early on has enabled me to partner with and employ a team who counterbalances those weaknesses. But for this to work there must be acceptance of others’ weaknesses too 
4. Sharing is caring:  I have talked a lot about the roller coaster ride. Acknowledging that there will be tough times can take the sting out of them and being able to share these with others and remain rational is vital to allow the storm to pass. 
5. If you are not embarrassed by your first product, then you were too slow to market: I love this one as it is so true. Am I embarrassed? Yes! Thank goodness for naivety again! I have always considered Acuity as a spinning plate on a pole. We are constantly changing, and we are far from where we started out. Being able to adapt and pivot quickly is essential for survival.  
6. Do not wait for your light bulb moment: ‘I would like to start my own company, but I don't have any ideas…’. This is a prelude to my previous point and is crucial to get off the ground. Getting started is much like writer's block when starting a novel. Just writing something is more important than whether it makes sense or not at this stage. Just get started on your project, which may or may not be unique. Once you get started you will be inspired by feedback to change. 
7. Cash is King: I cannot argue with this one and the art of raising finance in itself merits another blog post. But let me say that raising money creates a quite different type of company with its virtues and downsides. Once you take an investment you are starting a clock for investors who want to get their money back and the pressure will mount. On the flip side, by self-financing, you cannot take advantage of some of the opportunities that you might want to.  
8. It is not your money: I agree but disagree. Self-financing means we have had to be ‘lean and mean’. We could not afford mistakes and we may have missed scaling opportunities because being frivolous was not an option, we have made every penny count. I am not sure the same attitude would have prevailed with external finance. 
9. Play to your strengths: At the start we were a sales-focused business and yet we were trying to build a product from scratch. The internal voices in my head questioned “How can we build something without the relevant product development experience?” But when you must wear so many hats, you learn quickly what is needed and you explore every channel to get the answers you need. 

In my previous job, I could phone a helpline in London when my laptop was having issues. Someone would remotely fix my computer and I could carry on. By contrast, when I started the company and I first experienced IT issues, I had to scramble through the internet to find solutions. I am now a confident IT support person if you ever need your computer fixed! 

10. Learn to let go: Allowing other people to take over where I once led was an inevitable progression, but it does not always feel comfortable. So far it is going well, and it has enabled me to build out a new role for myself.  

Whether I am any good at this new role…. I will tell you in ten years’ time! 

#nationalstorytellingweek