Melanie Jones interviews Chad Staheli and Greg Whitehead at a Utah Business Founder Friday event. | Photo by Jessica Hinkson
Once a month, Utah Business hosts Founder Friday, a free event sponsored by BONCO that showcases the wisdom of Utah-based founders. In September, Kiln hosted the conversation between Utah Business Editor-in-Chief Melanie Jones and Philo Ventures Co-Founders Chad Staheli and Greg Whitehead. Here are a few takeaways from the event.
1. Embrace the natural chaos of a startup (and eradicate unnecessary chaos).
Entrepreneurship brings with it highs and lows, both economic and emotional. In a startup setting, there’s often also negative chaos that doesn’t need to exist, Staheli suggests—but it’s a balancing act, and he warns against over-structuring. “Our philosophy around Philo is, what if we can organize some of that negative chaos without pulling the lever too hard, over-structuring and getting rid of the magic? That’s the game we play every day.”
2. Fail as fast as possible.
If nine out of 10 startups fail, Whitehead says, he’s trying to chip away at that nine to reach number 10 as quickly as he can. “You learn from each failure,” he continues. “You have to be able to see rejection and not get discouraged. You say, ‘OK, I failed this time. What do we change? Let’s make the next one better.’”
3. Prioritize the fundamentals.
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of a startup environment, but it’s important to never put a lower priority on business fundamentals. At Philo, the team always prioritizes fundamentals like key performance indicators (KPIs), objectives and key results (OKRs), and breaking rigid goals into smaller, month-by-month goals. “We stay very much ‘eyes on the prize’ because when we stray off, that’s when some of that negative chaos creeps in,” Whitehead says.
4. Ideas are cheap; it’s the implementation that holds value.
Anyone can have a great idea—and most ideas are not unique. “Ideas are a dime a dozen,” Staheli says. “I have yet to hear a truly novel idea in a long, long time. It’s really more about who can actually go and succeed in doing that thing. That’s where the equity should be doled out.”
5. Plugging the right people into the right company will result in a creative environment that thrives on self-accountability.
While generalists play an important role in a company structure, it’s the specialists that make the magic happen, Staheli claims. Part of the Philo Ventures model is to bring on ultra-passionate, ultra-focused individuals as co-founders in the three- to six-month stage. “With Utah’s entrepreneurial environment coupled with Utah’s risk profile, there’s an incredible pool of talented individuals,” Staheli says. “We’re highly impressed with the level of talent that’s willing to be involved in entrepreneurial opportunities.”