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<p>Entrepreneurial advice is both abundant and varied — everything from textbook insights and online tips to incubator programs, conference panels, business school courses, and more. Sorting through it can be a daunting task. And yet every successful founder can point to pearls of wisdom that helped them find their way. We asked the CEOs of four portfolio companies — <a target="_blank" href="/portfolio/creditas">Creditas</a>, <a target="_blank" href="/portfolio/classiq">Classiq Technologies</a>, <a target="_blank" href="/portfolio/whatfix">Whatfix</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="/portfolio/castai">Cast AI</a> — to share a piece of advice they received early on that shaped their trajectories. Their answers touch on topics like grit, identity, patience, and talent. Here’s what they told us.</p>

<h2>What’s the best advice you received as an entrepreneur?</h2><p></p><h4>Sergio Furio, Creditas: Find a way to sustain your energy and drive</h4><p>Companies don’t die because they run out of money. They die because they run out of energy. Energy is the blood of your startup. You can be running low on cash, but if everyone is pumped up, focused, and doing what they need to do, there’s a good chance you’ll get through it and emerge more resilient than ever. But the moment that, as a company, you lose your energy and your drive, you&#039;re done. Forget about how much money you have. Things are just not going to happen. </p><p>As a leader, you have a massive role to play. Besides supporting the organization in a number of technical aspects, you’re the chief cheerleader. Things are going to go up and down. And you need to remind everyone about your purpose and mission, and do it with energy and conviction. If you lose stamina, it will be hard to hide it. Everything will start being shaky. People will lose the connection to the mission and the passion for what they’re doing. </p>

<p>Two things can help a founder sustain that energy. The first is pretty obvious: <a target="_blank" href="/insights/creditas-ceo-sergio-furio-qa">Tackle a problem you are passionate about</a>. The second is more subtle. As a founder, you are pursuing a mission. But you are also building a platform for your own personal growth — the growth you get from learning something new every day. If you don&#039;t find a way of growing personally, then you better find something else to do. But if you can develop, express yourself, and improve every single day, that’s incredibly motivating. It will give you the energy and resilience that’s needed to succeed. And this is not only good for the founder — it&#039;s an inspiration for the rest of the company.</p>

<h4>Nir Minerbi, Classiq Technologies: Know your DNA</h4><p>Have a very clear sense of what type of company you are, and what business model makes sense. This advice came from a board member at our very first board meeting, and I am very grateful for it. We are a product company, obviously. But we thought that at some point it might be helpful for us to build a services team. It’s quite common in quantum computing, and it could help generate more revenue. This board member strongly advised us not to do that.</p>

<p>Why? Because the DNA of a product company is so dramatically different from the DNA of a services company. You can&#039;t play this combined game. It’s tempting for startups to pursue avenues for revenue that may look easier, especially in the short term. But if you really want to become <a target="_blank" href="/insights/classiq-ceo-nir-minerbi-interview">a long-term product leader in quantum computing</a>, or any other category, you must be product-centric and build your business and your business model around product. Focus is everything. If you&#039;re not focused as an entrepreneur, you won&#039;t succeed.</p>

<h4>Khadim Batti, Whatfix: Upgrade your talent ranks; repeat</h4><p>One of my board members told me that a startup is like a magnet: It grows in power as you scale. This is especially important to remember when it comes to recruiting talent. You always want the best people, but if you’re a startup with 20 people and $10 million in revenue, you’re a much smaller magnet than you will be in a year, when you may be twice that size. As you grow, <a target="_blank" href="/insights/whatfix-digital-adoption-platform">you’ll be able to attract more and better talent</a>.</p>

<p>That means two things. First, think about constantly upgrading your talent ranks. And second, don’t get ahead of where you are. When you are a small magnet, you may not be able to get the exact person you want. You may be looking for a VP but may have to settle for a director. But don’t hire that director-level person and call them a VP. If you scale, a year down the line you’ll be able to get that VP you wanted. And if you already put someone else at that level, it makes it harder to upgrade. </p>

<h4>Yuri Frayman, Cast AI: Marry patience and fearlessness</h4><p>Be patient. It’s not something anyone told me, but rather something that I learned <a target="_blank" href="/insights/qa-yuri-frayman-cast-ai-cloud-costs">as a seven-time founder</a>. I&#039;m probably the most impatient human being out there, and that’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs. But you have to learn how to become patient. </p><p>As a founder, you have to move fast, of course. But you don&#039;t want to rush into things. Analyze your decisions carefully. Check five times before you execute, because misguided execution can cause you a lot of grief. It can mean missing an opportunity or embarking on the wrong direction, and both are costly. I&#039;m on the board of a company where that happened — they pursued too many directions and ended up with a bunch of solutions that didn&#039;t really make sense. That put them in a really tenuous position. Think through critical decisions, do some A/B testing, and bring in your prospects to act as advisors. That&#039;s how you get a true understanding of the business problems you have to solve. </p>

<p>At the same time, you have to be fearless. If you are afraid, you will continuously make wrong decisions. Know why you’re doing what you’re doing, and be 101% committed to it. There will be hardships along the way. But nothing should take you off the road that you’re on.</p>

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