Editor's Note: This is part of a Charlotte Inno series we're calling "In Their Own Words," where you'll hear from some of Charlotte's tech, innovation and startup founders and leaders on their experiences navigating 2020 during Covid-19, as well as their expectations for 2021. Our fourth contributor is Dan Roselli, co-founder of RevTech Labs, a Charlotte incubator focused on insurtech, health tech and fintech; and Packard Place, designed to be a hub for entrepreneurial growth in the region.
In a word, 2021 is about growth. But before we look forward, let’s think about 2020.
I have the pleasure of working with and mentoring hundreds of startup founders, and I saw the complete range of response in 2020 with some thriving and some dying. I told all the founders we work with that disruption causes opportunity. Even painful and deadly disruption like Covid-19 will cause disruption and will therefore be an opportunity that someone will maximize.
My favorite business quote of all times comes from a scientist, Charles Darwin. “The species that survive are not necessarily the strongest or the fastest; they are the ones that are the most responsive to change.” 2020 was a proving ground for that axiom in entrepreneurship.
I read an article during the financial crisis of 2008 about how leaders can “lead” during times of crisis that still sticks with me. “Focus on other people” seems odd in a crisis, but founders need to have the opposite of the “every man for themselves” mentality when crisis strikes. Many times when there are forces we cannot control, we regain control and leadership by focusing on how we can help others — our teammates, clients, families — get support when they need it. The amazing thing is that when you focus on helping and supporting others, you too feel less powerless as a leader.
2020 was also one of those years that James Lane Allen was talking about when he penned, “Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.”
I’ve found that human beings are generally pretty smart, and that includes all the people on your team. During times of crisis, people know there is crisis. Don’t beat around the bush about it. Tackle it head on with transparency and honesty. Tell them what the company has to do to survive and thrive in the future. Get advice and hear options from those you are leading and peers you respect.
Just like entrepreneurs were the first to understand how to work through the disruption of 2020, they have already been the first ones to realize that 2021 will be an opportunity to return to growth.
