How should we support entrepreneurs?
Recently I have transitioned from running the business I started in 2012 to working in multiple roles in Venture Capital, philanthropy and with accelerators. All my work focuses on supporting entrepreneurs. My partners and the organizations around us all seem to be asking themselves the same thing:
How do we best support entrepreneurs?
I answer this question by first looking inwards, at my own trials and tribulations on the other side of the table building a purpose driven venture.
In ten years, I had two different COOs exit almost overnight for personal reasons. Without a trusted second in command, I was instantly alone in the battlefield when we had just given the order to rush forward. When an impact investment fund blocked a solid Board nomination, company operations were throttled and I was slammed with three months of full-body hives. The ordeal caused more sleepless nights for me than the pandemic unfolding around us did. My company has been robbed, we had a contractor try and build a road through a clinic of ours, our clinics have been accused by a neighbor of witchcraft, and we had projects held hostage to informal payments.
Entrepreneurship is hard. But it’s worth it. My company has helped >400k people access healthcare in areas where they don’t have any other options. We stayed consistently open throughout the pandemic. Our nurses stayed overnight with patients in our small outpatient centers when the hospitals turned them away and when they could not isolate due to their crowded houses. Some of my early team members are going to build the next generation of big and important businesses in Kenya.
I would not have been able to have this impact and survive the hard times without people supporting us: Investors, philanthropists, accelerators, mentors and family.
So- yes! Entrepreneurs need more than money to grow their businesses.
But what they need beyond the broad buckets of “introductions'' and “technical assistance” might seem elusive. Countless conversations and surveys reveal the same types of things. The “what” that entrepreneurs need. I’m interested in the “how.” Here are my top five tips on building your support approach and communicating with entrepreneurs.
#1: Understand your superpower.
Funds, corporations and charities that have been around a while probably have one. What are you or your firm uniquely good at? You ask this to entrepreneurs all the time! If you turned the tables, what would you say? Build a useful offering for entrepreneurs around that.
This could look like:
Tapping into your core business. Companies are building entrepreneur support for their internal investments, CSR initiatives or corporate strategy work. An example of this is my work with Prime Advocates, a social enterprise legal and financial services firm. The backbone of their Women of Impact accelerator is a full year of pro bono legal support from partners. We start with deep support that is useful for Founders, draws on our firm’s background and connections, and saves each Founder time and money. We layer on other program elements, but we lead with our core business to create legitimacy and value.
Identify one market pain point, and build a unique offering around it. Support providers who know their markets well have probably started to see patterns in the issues that their entrepreneurs face. When I was building Platform for Assiduity Capital, I was inspired by Alpha Bridge Ventures. The first cool thing they did was share their LP pitch deck with commentary (here). In their deck they detail their thesis around the mental health of Founders. They have data on how entrepreneurship negatively impacts mental health, which then negatively impacts business outcomes. It’s a win-win for a VC Platform: provide real, human support for people that enables better business outcomes.
They claim their Founders will experience less crisis/ team turnover through their platform which is fully focused on mental health and a community of support for Founders. They do other things for their portfolio, but the core of their Platform offering is based on solving one consistent challenge that they’ve taken the time to understand, and build a specialized offering around.
Build around a shared need. You might be new and don’t have a superpower (yet). Try building an offering around a skillset like marketing that will benefit both your organization and your portfolio. It might not be your superpower yet, but it’s something that you are willing to invest in for yourself and it could bring portfolio companies up with you.
Intentionally discover your superpower. Set up a regular cadence to ask team members, clients and the companies that you work with what they think your superpower is. This can be a very rewarding activity, and the answers might surprise you.
#2: Make it easier to get work done.
Running a business is a never ending to-do list. Most Founders are juggling competing priorities while also thinking three steps ahead. If you want to help, don’t add to the to-do list, make it easier to get work done.
This could look like:
Hiring an Entrepreneur in Residence. This type of person can roll up their sleeves and help portfolio companies on a wide range of topics. They can also help you be more entrepreneurial in your approach. A friend of mine had a CFO seconded to him by an investor after a sudden departure in the team. This type of support is priceless.
Nice office space. Extra space with that new office, or due to employees working remotely? Providing early-stage entrepreneurs with a nice working environment where everything works is a huge value-add. When my office was a table with four chairs in a finished garage with shoddy internet, my friends at Village Capital let me interview potential hires in their coworking space.
Save them money. Buy one conference pass to an expensive event that people can take turns using. If you pay for expensive systems like PitchBook, feed entrepreneurs that data. Whether they’ve just raised or have a month of cash on hand, most entrepreneurs are going to be very careful about cash.
Stay execution oriented. If you must run webinars, etc. can they tackle the things that your entrepreneurs are working on anyways?
#3 Recognize the power of a Meaningful Network.
If well curated and engaged, the network of entrepreneurs that you work with can be your biggest asset. Curating and sharing your professional network is essential as well.
Build up portfolio trust and then let them test each other’s products. Companies can provide discounted products or services their fellow entrepreneurs need, and in return get traction and feedback from friendly early users. It seems like a no-brainer to me for entrepreneur support groups to subsidize this.
Leverage the knowledge base of the portfolio. And if you get this going, it’s sustainable because people will help each other. I’m writing this article after a rooftop networking event hosted by Cartier Women’s Initiative in Dubai. Over shawarma and wine, I talked with entrepreneurs that I met tonight and a few that I knew through a support program 9 years ago. It felt like being with family as we traded war stories about raising capital, building a business of substance and deciding when to move on. We launched an angel syndicate as a result of that evening to support other women-led businesses. The only thing the Cartier Foundation had to do was bring us together.
Give warm intros. This isn’t unique advice, but don’t forget the power of vouching for someone else when you make the connection. What world are you a part of that your entrepreneurs do not have access to? Helping entrepreneurs break into these clubs as peers and equals is a huge value-add.
Pull in mentors. Because your portfolio is probably building awesome things, and there are probably people out there who would love to help. One of my Techstars mentors spent ~9 hours with my team mapping a patient’s telemedicine journey, helping us to identify and action much needed UX improvements. Matching the right people to the right problems can lead to long-term relationships and unlock very meaningful results.
#4 Know when to get out of their way.
Most conversations I have with entrepreneurs about what support they need eventually turns to examples of things that don't help. If you are an investor one of the most significant things you can do is be there for your entrepreneurs when they ask, and give them your trust when they don't. This goes for accelerators too. This means:
Optional Attendance. Make the support offering desirable so that no one wants to miss it. And if they do, it’s probably for a good reason related to growing the business. Trust their ability to prioritize and focus.
Be careful with catch-ups. General catch-ups are great for building a relationship, but are not always the right forum to problem solve. Don’t send people down unnecessary rabbit holes. Consider having execution-minded team members take these.
#5: And then, of course, Attitude is everything.
A lot of entrepreneurs are trying to solve really hard problems. You don’t know what happened in the days and hours before your conversation. This is as simple as:
Offering kind words and encouragement. At Access Afya, I felt the closest to the investors who took the time to hit “reply” to my monthly updates.
If you want to “push them”, be helpful. Are you offering criticism, or suggestions, comps and advice that people can use? Timing and tone will make a big difference in how a message is received.
Reread the tough emails out loud before you press send. Would you actually say this to someone?
If you get your approach right, it is a win-win. Useful interactions for the company are better at generating insights for investors and partners too. And remember- you are not trying to get this right, you are trying to get it right for you and for the types of businesses that you support. This requires knowing yourself, and your market. If we can continuously listen for pain points and apply unique assets and skills to those, I think we can collectively create an ecosystem that achieves more growth and impact and improves the wellbeing of Founders.