What is the secret to startup success? Not trends that many Silicon Valley founders subscribe to, Andreessen Horowitz general partner VC Martin Casado told a standing-room-only crowd at TechCrunch Disrupt last week.
Before joining the storied VC firm, Casado founded two other companies, including Nicira, a networking infrastructure company that he sold to VMware for $1.25 billion. When asked for advice on how to achieve success, he cautioned founders to be wary of “hustle culture” tendencies.
“Silicon Valley is very performative, right? ‘Doing startups’ and doing ‘the right things’ and being part of culture clubs and networking,” he said. “It’s good to hear about all the hype, the crazy stuff. And feel free to go ahead and think about it. But if you’re doing a startup, you really, really should pay attention to your mental health.”
For example, he hears many founders “focusing on how they can be as productive as possible on a given day,” he said. They script their days: wake up at 5, eat something, exercise, and “fast at a certain time,” he explains.
Beyond that are productivity hacks like “At the Frog,” doing your least favorite thing first thing every morning. The Pomodoro Technique works in 25-minute chunks with 5-minute intervals. And countless other trends.
“I don’t think any of it has really had a serious impact. I think the most important thing is to just work,” Casado advises.
Instead of filling a day with hard work, “Startups are so hard, and you, as a founder, are so traumatized that I think you need to do the opposite … just be sane and take care of yourself. Focus on keeping.”
That might mean “sleeping and eating fast food,” he says. Founders need to understand that it will likely take years to achieve success, and there is no guarantee that they ever will. Lifestyle hacks that may work to hit a looming deadline may not be sustainable as a way of living for years.
“Things always take longer than you expect. And I think the people who really just focus on their own well-being are the ones who survive,” he said. “If you can survive, at the end of the day, you have a chance to win.”
Credit : techcrunch.com
