CEO Essentials

An Essential Entrepreneurial Enabler: Learning

November 21, 2020 /

Learning to learn quickly and effectively is one of the master skills of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Recently I listened to a podcast featuring one of my favorite angel investors, Walt Young. Walt is a super-angel who has an excellent track record of discovering promising startups to back. In the Entrypoint #TheCackle podcast, along with lots of other wisdom, Walt shares the three characteristics he looks for in entrepreneurs: drive, intelligence, and integrity. I agree with him that those characteristics are a great filter when selecting entrepreneurs to back, and yet they are not particularly teachable.

Reflecting on Walt’s thoughts also got me thinking about one of the great enabling master skills that is a bit more under an entrepreneur’s control to develop:  learning. When I think back over my 20 years developing as a startup CEO, I think one of my most critical skills has been my ability to absorb new information, integrate insights from different domains, and translate that knowledge into effective problem-solving. 

Being motivated to learn reflects a powerful desire to personally grow and improve. When you think about it, startups are all about innovation, which is the opposite of repeating an already proven model. To innovate, you see something new or combine existing things into something new. Doing this requires constant learning about what customers want, discovering what solutions might be developed and deployed to meet their unmet needs, and building an organization to make and deliver exciting promises to the emerging market you are creating.

Learning is a skill.  Learning to learn is something that can be mastered – and applied to the entrepreneurial life. My husband, a high school and junior college teacher for the past 29 years, observes that a critical part of learning is the perseverance to keep trying to understand something new even when it might not initially come easily. There are many accessible resources online and through other people who can help you get up the curve on a new subject area in today’s world. However, it does require the willingness to start from a place of ignorance and do the work to piece together the essential parts and systematically fill in the gaps. I read, listen to podcasts, devour audiobooks, and talk to other people to learn what they know.

When I think about some of the new domain areas I have had to learn about to lead my startups, I am amazed at the variety of information I learned for each startup I tackled. Perhaps the following examples of the diversity of topics I had to develop expertise in as I led two different startup companies will give you a sense of how important it is for a startup leader to cultivate the ability to build new domain knowledge quickly and well:

  • For Accuri Cytometers, I had to learn what a cytometer was, the basics of all the diverse technologies involved in both the existing technology and the new technologies we were developing, and the relevant aspects of our customers’ science, including immunology, microbiology, and cellular biology. I also had to learn about software development, angel and VC fundraising, sophisticated manufacturing of complex instruments, and international employment law complexities amongst other topics.  

  • For Fifth Eye, I pursued new learning curves in critical care medicine, data science and machine learning/AI, modern software development and DevOps automation approaches, on-premise and distributed cloud computing solutions that leverage fully-managed services, FDA medical device regulations and quality management systems, and hospital management.  This list will keep growing as our company develops.

In addition to the domain-specific knowledge one must develop to lead a high-potential startup that is inevitably trying to do something novel, entrepreneurs must also master an incredible diversity of skills to create a company out of nothing. No one starts out as an experienced startup CEO. We all have to learn the job on-the-job. That means understanding the language of business, mastering every business function’s core elements, figuring out how to fundraise, developing winning products, selling, and growing the business.  You must master how to recruit, lead, and manage a team of employees, contractors, consultants, and other stakeholders through the stages of growth.  And this is only the beginning.

Learning is one of my master skills – the underpinning of the rapid problem-solving necessary to lead a startup successfully. After going to college and graduate school, I spent eight years as a management consultant. During that time, I led thirty-five projects for twenty-five different clients in different industries. To be an effective consultant, I had to master the ability to quickly learn the essential elements of each new client’s business to help them improve their operations and performance. What I learned is that an excellent place to begin was merely exposing myself to a new area, washing my mind in the vocabulary, and understanding the new terminology. Then I started looking for similarities to other domains that I already knew something about. I would ask questions, seek more information, and look for patterns. I would try to identify what is unique to the domain I am learning about and what is common to other areas.  All of these techniques I continue to apply today.

Honestly, the need to learn so many things over the years is a core reason I started this blog. It is my attempt to help others on their learning curves because I know how hard it is to get succinct, practical, real-world experiences distilled down, and if those of us who have successfully walked the path do not share what we have learned, then each new startup CEO must start from scratch. 

Doing something novel and building something out of nothing requires continuous learning and innovating. As leaders, we have to do it, model it, and encourage it in our company cultures. This means that a startup CEO’s ability to learn is a critical competency – and the faster you can learn, the faster your startup can move forward. Work hard to build your capacity to drink up and apply new knowledge, and you will be more successful as a startup leader.

You May Also Like

Circles of Control, Influence, and Concern

September 17, 2022

An Ownership Mentality

October 16, 2021

Going Virtual

June 26, 2021

29 Comments

  • altyazili

    January 29, 2021 at 3:37 pm

    Hi, always i used to check web site posts here early in the dawn, for the reason that i enjoy to gain knowledge of more and more. Delila Wylie Butterfield

  • cheap flights

    January 30, 2021 at 11:21 pm

    Hi there! I know this is kinda off topic but I’d figured I’d ask.

    Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest writing a blog article
    or vice-versa? My site goes over a lot of the same topics as yours and
    I believe we could greatly benefit from each other. If you are interested feel
    free to shoot me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you!
    Fantastic blog by the way!

  • filmkovasi

    January 31, 2021 at 4:41 am

    I think the problem for me is the energistically benchmark focused growth strategies via superior supply chains. Compellingly reintermediate mission-critical potentialities whereas cross functional scenarios. Phosfluorescently re-engineer distributed processes without standardized supply chains. Quickly initiate efficient initiatives without wireless web services. Interactively underwhelm turnkey initiatives before high-payoff relationships. Janela Kerby Dawkins

  • altyazili

    January 31, 2021 at 1:28 pm

    I?m amazed, I should say. Actually hardly ever do I encounter a blog that?s both informative as well as entertaining, and let me inform you, you have hit the nail on the head. Your idea is superior; the issue is something that inadequate people are talking intelligently around. I am very delighted that I came across this in my look for something associating with this. Arleyne Arlan Huoh

  • online

    February 1, 2021 at 3:49 am

    There are some intriguing points in this post however I don?t know if I see all of them facility to heart. There is some validity however I will certainly take hold viewpoint up until I explore it better. Good short article, thanks and also we want extra! Contributed to FeedBurner as well Dasya Grover Jamille

  • cheap flights

    February 1, 2021 at 12:44 pm

    Wonderful blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News.
    Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
    I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there!
    Cheers

  • cheap flights

    February 1, 2021 at 3:24 pm

    Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about
    this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with some
    pics to drive the message home a little bit, but instead of that, this is excellent blog.
    A great read. I’ll certainly be back.

  • tinyurl.com

    February 2, 2021 at 8:10 am

    Hi! I’ve been reading your website for a while now and finally got the bravery to
    go ahead and give you a shout out from Humble Tx! Just wanted to say keep
    up the great job!

  • bluray

    February 7, 2021 at 10:28 pm

    Hello there. I discovered your blog by the use of Google at the same time as looking for a comparable subject, your site came up. It seems to be great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then. Stella Glynn Quintin

  • tinyurl.com

    February 11, 2021 at 8:49 pm

    Wow that was odd. I just wrote an extremely long comment but
    after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr…
    well I’m not writing all that over again. Regardless, just wanted to say excellent blog!

  • turkce

    February 14, 2021 at 7:46 am

    Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post. I will definitely comeback. Marin Bret Ailin

  • turkce

    February 14, 2021 at 10:51 am

    After looking into a handful of the blog posts on your site, I seriously appreciate your way of blogging. I saved it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back soon. Take a look at my web site too and tell me how you feel. Stacee Kahlil Donica

  • turkce

    February 15, 2021 at 4:37 am

    Hello there. I found your blog by means of Google at the same time as looking for a similar topic, your website got here up. It looks good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then. Corenda Chen Alarick

  • turkce

    February 15, 2021 at 2:32 pm

    This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your wonderful post. Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks! Ilse Iorgo Irisa

  • erotik

    February 17, 2021 at 4:01 am

    Your method of telling everything in this article is really nice, every one be able to without difficulty understand it, Thanks a lot. Brandi Jarib Naresh