I remember 30-odd years ago being in culinary school and designing the restaurant that I wanted to build. I probably designed a half-dozen or so concepts that I absolutely knew were going to be winners. It ended up being another 5 years or so before I actually opened one of the concepts after running a successful catering company.

Going into the business, I thought I was very wise. I had a business plan with financial projections, a great menu, a client base, etc. – enough to convince a handful of banks to put together a loan package for me (underfunded!) in addition to a small grant to get things off the ground. I ended up opening the restaurant for what would be my senior project as I completed my bachelor’s degree. I actually missed my graduation because I had a catering job that day!

Seemed like everything would go well. As a business management major, and an experienced entrepreneur did have some concept of how the business would run. I experienced managing people and teams, but when it came to hiring, training, managing and firing my own teams, it turned out to be a bit different than what I’d expected. I remember spending hours doing financials and payroll, negotiating with vendors, picking up product, spending 80 hours a week between doing catering and running the restaurant.

While I had a wonderful time developing menus and enjoyed all of the accolades associated with the restaurant, it was a lot more than what I’d signed up for.

The Technical Founder

In the book, “The E-Myth” by Michael E. Gerber, he discusses this at length and describes it as why most businesses don’t work. The first story he describes in the book was about a baker who loved baking pies, so thought she should open a bakery and found that it was a lot more than what she’d signed up for. So near and dear to my heart.

When a technical founder – someone with a particular gift or skill who starts a business – goes into business, it is to do the thing that they love. My experience has been that they often have a specific mission or way they want to make a positive impact on the world. They serve their clients with great passion, often over-delivering to meet a particular need with the expectation that doing the right thing would come back around to them.

Unfortunately, the reality that often smacks them is that business is business, and that business doesn’t care how kind and giving you are. If your expenses exceed your revenue, you are going to be out of business quick. Yes, expenses include the money that the founder should earn from doing the thing that they do.

Technical Founder Challenges

Based on what I have seen, there are about 10 technical founder challenges that may cause founders to struggle with growing their companies. Some of these are going to be critical and will keep the business from being successful, while others will inhibit growth and keep the business from becoming as successful as it could be. Some areas where founders may suffer include:

• Financial management, such as how to price offerings so that they are profitable and tracking performance. I have seen many owners develop pricing without taking into consideration what they need to charge to keep the business running and make a profit.
• Determining how to scale the business without compromising quality, maintaining customer expectations, entering new markets and managing the complex business.
• Managing business operations including improving operational efficiency through process engineering, technology while maintaining the same or improving the quality and level of service clients expect.
• Attracting, hiring and managing talent, including keeping them motivated and productive, and building a company culture and values that reflect the reason the Founder started the company
• Client Acquisition and Retention seems as though it has been one of the more difficult challenges I have seen with founders. I’ve seen them go from feast to famine and back, do a ton of ineffective but familiar practices, but rarely able to create a steady stream of prospects to work with.
• Legal Matters such as Contracting, IP protection and industry risks and liabilities
• Business Growth Planning including development, implementation and management of a realistic strategic plan
• Selecting and leveraging the technologies to stay competitive, or implementing solutions without disrupting operations
• Creating an effective culture of innovation to stay ahead of the competition
• Having a “work-life balance” that allows them to have a life outside of work, delegate tasks and avoid the reality of burnout.
• Understanding customers, their needs, being proactive with meeting their expectations and collecting and reacting to feedback.

As a technical founder, and working with dozens of them over the years, I have seen them and know that the most important thing that founders have to do is to get out of their own way. While it seems more efficient and very effective to figure things out internally, often the solutions that are outside of your super powers aren’t executed at the level that they could be. Which is unfortunate. There might be a short-term gain, but in the long run, it could do more harm than good.

Thinking founders can do it all themselves is like trying to play every position on a team and assuming that they can do it all themselves, better than anyone else.  This typically leads to less-than-optimal performance, inability to scale and eventually burnout.  I have done all three, with flying colors and have sworn never to allow myself to do that again.

The key to overcome technical founder challenges is to plan for and get the help that is needed. It is amazing what happens when you have the right people in the right positions.  Not only can you maintain or improve the level of performance you expect, if done properly – you have the right people on the bus – your operation can scale.  Note that I said, “your operation can scale” versus “you can scale your operation.”  Sometimes, perhaps often, the role of scaling the operation belongs to someone else inside or outside of the organization.  In Lance Cotrell’s interview on the Relentless Pursuit of Winning Podcast, he discusses his need to bring in a CEO to run the company, which resulted in the impact, growth and outcome he sought.

Consider starting with fractional roles – get people on your team with the expertise without having to invest in a full-time resource when a) it is not needed and b) the revenue doesn’t support the FTE being a smart investment.  Keep in mind and plan for the reality that significant change may take some time.  Chick-fil-a, for example, took 6 years before all of their team members would consistently say, “My pleasure” when thanked.  I would encourage you not to give up before the fruit of your work is realized.

In Conclusion

I am of the opinion that the technical founders that start companies are those that make the greatest positive impact on the world.  It is more than seeing a need and filling it, but rather, seeing a problem and being fully committed to solving the problem.  In addition to expertise, they bring passion and understanding to their companies that needs to touch as many as possible. Making the investment to overcome technical founder challenges will be their key to making the greatest change.

Aepiphanni is a 19-year-old Business Consultancy dedicated to providing Fractional Leadership, Management Consulting, and Business Transformation to business leaders and entrepreneurs aiming to enhance or expand their operations. As a trusted advisor, we specialize in delivering forward-thinking operational and strategic solutions that empower our clients to navigate and overcome the challenges of business growth. Discover more about our services at Aepiphanni.com or schedule a complimentary discovery session at Coffee and a Consult.

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