CoNotes

The Startup Balancing Act

Posted on July 30, 2008 0 Comments

I just came across this article about Tata Motor’s Nano car, and found it extremely interesting. The car itself sounds very innovative, but my interest comes from the goal setting and promotion of Tata.

As a startup, you are always treading this fine line between promoting and executing. Those of us in the web community all should know what happens when you over-promote and under-execute (a.k.a. Cuil ). But what the public doesn’t know is that you are really promoting your vision for the company. However, as a leader of a startup, you need to know what you are selling and to whom. Your vision isn’t always what the public needs to hear. Sometimes they just need to know what you can deliver right now.

For those job seekers out there, you also need to take this into consideration. The leaders might have an incredible vision for the startup, but you really have to evaluate if they are the ones capable of executing on that vision. Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions back in your interviews with the startup and think hard about if your skills and passion are complementary to the startup’s needs.