Most Often We Fail Because We Don't Say 'No' Often
Unlearning the conditioning to be agreeable and impress everybody is a soft skill successful entrepreneurs have.
Hello and welcome to the Building Startups Newsletter🚀
Let’s dive right in.
The biggest thing that separates experienced Ajay from rookie Ajay is having the courage to say “No”.
When I first came to New York, I was not an entrepreneur. But I started connecting with startup founders here, and the first thing I noticed in my interactions was the sense of wonder and the sheer curiosity most of these people had.
They always had questions to ask, a hunger to know more. Most of them did not make me feel beneath them, even when I was nobody. They wanted to know who I was, what I wanted to do.
I talked about this in a previous newsletter, but that was what I took away from those conversations:
The best kind of entrepreneurs are perpetually curious.
Over years, I’ve continued to be curious. I’ve loved meeting people, telling them about my work, and asking questions. I’ve loved hearing what they have to say.
But I’ve also learned to control what I do with their opinions, to balance my curiosity with my beliefs.
Let’s extend this thought into actual business practice. One thing you learn while building companies:
You can’t build everything for everyone. The moment you start indulging in every thought or opinion is the moment you decide to fail.
So for a founder, it means:
Not diluting your efforts across too many ventures.
Create a distinct competitive offering for your business, because saying "no" essentially implies saying "yes" to something else, something that will ultimately benefit you and your startup. Say "no" to keep yourself and your team focused on the business's genuine objective.
Avoiding distractions that divert your path.
The more time you spend on your journey, the more the difficult decisions start coming up. And saying “yes” to every good opportunity that comes your way may actually keep you from a great one.
Prioritising what truly matters
After spending a decade here, I can tell you from personal experience that not leaving time for balance and recharging is a recipe for disaster. Saying “no” also means that you’re choosing to prioritise yourself, and allowing your people to prioritise themselves as well.
For me, my co-founder and my team at Simplified, we’ve realised that we want to be the best in the very lane that we’re in.
So many people come up to us, and I can’t deny, I love knowing what they have to say, but I also have learned with experience to keep faith in our vision.
If you’re a first time founder, stick to your gut and data, and be as picky as possible about the people you choose to take advice from.
Don’t hesitate to say “no” is that is what you truly believe to be the best decision.
So in the end, I’d like to correct my takeaway from successful entrepreneurs:
The best kind of entrepreneurs are perpetually curious, yet astonishingly firm in their beliefs.
Have you struggled to say ‘no’?
Talk to me in the comments below👇🏼