WeFestival theme this month is GROW
This month our theme at WeFestival is grow. You can read all of our conversations on Medium here. You can also read the piece below.
The importance of growth in our businesses is just as important as our personal growth. I spoke to a woman founder yesterday whose business is winding down. It could end up being sold or it could end up being part of history. We talked about her future, what she learned, how she feels. I still believe in the business she built but shit happens. I bring this up before reading this growth piece because as an investor we support people to scale their businesses. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t but it doesn’t mean you just close the door and walk away. I think she was surprised by this and that is a big part of growth too.
GROW is WeFestival’s theme this month — a word repeated again and again in the startup world.
When it comes to business, growth tends to focus on the quantitative. How fast will your business grow? What do you see as the growth trajectory of your business? How much has the business grown over the past year? What is your month to month growth? What kind of growth can you expect in the next year? We all get the picture.
But in the startup world — and in the real world — we know that growth is more than just numbers. Growth can be about the physical or abstract. “I need to grow my hair” to “that idea has to grow on me.” But mainly growth is a qualitative concept. It’s about evolving — moving from one point to another.
The big question when it comes to building companies is does growth = success? Are we only successful if we grow companies to be a certain size? I think we would all immediately answer yes but growth and success mean different things to each of us. There’s the quantitative that can measured in numbers and there’s the qualitative that can be thought of as personal growth.
As entrepreneurs and people, we grow every day. When I think about my personal growth I can point to a multitude of growing points from relationships to businesses. Of course it would be great if every business I invest in achieve the type of success they want through their growth but that isn’t realistic. Nobody wants to see themselves or their businesses fail but that is just part of our journeys. As an investor I invest in companies that have the potential to grow big but most important I want to invest in people who are willing to personally grow with their business.