A VC in Vacationland

There are many similar quotes, such as 'we made the road as we walked', or the Australian  Aborigines "singing the earth alive' as they walked their roads. 

The phrase is very appropriate for the startup world, as I was reminded the other day, speaking to one of my CEO's. The company is on a fast growth path and we need to do a lot of things simultaneously to make it all happen–hiring, preserving culture, training new managers, etc. etc. You have to have a lot of faith that all is on the right track every day–mistakes are difficult to correct in a fast-growth world.

It made me think about the most important part of this entire process, having the management team learn how to let go, trust others to take over their day-to-day jobs and start spending time thinking about how to make the future happen. All the while, walking the road as we build it.

I warn them that having 200 people in a few months becomes much more of a people, rather than task management responsibility for the founders. You can't spend your days second guessing your new hires. You need to give them the resources to be successful, set clear objectives and be their biggest cheerleader. Otherwise, the whole scheme collapses on itself. It's impossible for you as founders to run the whole show, like you did only a few months ago.

It's a huge change for the founders, but critical if the startup is going to make it into the next phase of growth. You will still be walking the road as you build it, but with a lot more people walking along beside you. That's they way it should and needs to be. You as a founder become a leader of people, not just someone who does everything. It's tough but a critical transition but the rewards are fantastic when you get to the other side.