Laying the foundation for a new venture that’s out to disrupt is a whirlwind of emotions. I come across people who are starry eyed as they speak of the game-changing startup they’re trying to launch. The passion and drive that these folks feel in the early stages of a venture are so strong. But what happens to all of that fervor years down the road when their scrappy startups have become stable, scaled businesses?
Today, at MIT, the university’s Industrial Performance Center revealed its findings from a new report, in which they measured how Massachusetts stacked up against The Valley and New York in terms of startups and scaling companies. Following this announcement, a panel of local founders discussed their personal journeys as they grew their innovative ventures into mature businesses whose technology was quickly adopted to become the norm. Here’s what they had to say.
Ash Ashutosh, Actifio
As startups truly gain traction and begin to grow, Ashutosh said that there comes a time when founders have a rude awakening. What companies had been doing that was once considered revolutionary is now so widespread that it’s basically ordinary.
“You’re out there. You go out and do things that are all about breaking everything that’s convention,” said Ashutosh. “Then you come to four or five years and you do less of that. Because you become mainstream.”
“That’s hard,” he added.
While all of that is a testimony to a business successfully developing something that meets a need in the market, it’s difficult for founders to have that realization, Ashutosh said.
Bob Mulroy, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals
There’s an assortment of resources around Boston meant to support startups. Even though there are accelerators and incubators for developing ventures, Mulroy pointed out that there’s a lack of support for businesses that have grown. As a result, executives are coming across uncharted territory with its own share of problems, but without the easily accessible resources they used to have.
“CEO networks would help,” Mulroy said.
If you have other people sharing solutions to the same problems you’re going through, Mulroy explained that, “You’re ready for it rather than having no strategic possibilities.”
Colin Angle, iRobot
Besides coming to terms with their lackluster promise of disruption, founders leading scaled companies also might find that they’re in it alone.
When you’re a startup with a shiny new idea that excites people, everyone wants to talk to you, as explained by Angle. Whether it be investors, mentors or even press, so many folks feel drawn to be associated with the latest and greatest venture. But once a company is more developed and grown, that’s not the case anymore.
“As an entrepreneur, we do a great job getting you going,” Angle said. "Then, the more success you have, the more we leave you alone. I think it’s human nature.”
“You’re almost scary,” he continued. “How are we to even help you?"
Diane Hessan, Startup Institute
With the public shifting their attention to the next crop of exciting ventures, the reality of running - not simply starting - a business can set in. Hessan explained that you have to start making serious decisions that are entirely different from ones you’ve made before as an early-stage venture, which can get you some flack.
“Founding and heading your own startup is a glamorous thing, especially in Boston,” Hessan, who is also the former CEO of C Space, laughed.
After that initial glow wore off, though, she had to make some major judgement calls for C Space. That included doing something to grow her company on the global level, which she knew she wouldn’t be able to do on her own. So she chose to sell.
“The primary reason to sell the company was that we needed to go global,” Hessan explained. “We needed to do it quickly.”
“If you sell, it doesn’t mean you sell out,” she added about her personal realization, in spite of critics.
Images on file.
