The one thing that makes female startup founders succeed is grit

Photo credit: Mike Foster.

As women are celebrated around the world this month, I think of the women I am surrounded with at the Startup Asia Women community. What do they have in common?

In my recent interview with Business Times, I was asked about the thing that sets female founders apart. The common denominator I have deduced is grit.

How can one, short, four-letter word sum it all?

Grit was propagated by Angela Duckworth, a research psychologist who conducted many tests to find out why people of equal intelligence experience different levels of success. Promoting that grit is a good predictor of success, she outlined four elements or stages that contribute to grit—interest, practice, purpose, and hope. In short, she coined grit as the power of passion and perseverance especially with long-term goals. Better still, grit is not to be confused with talent, as grit can be cultivated.

But how can women have more grit?

I would be bold to say that it is more apparent and better facilitated in the startup arena than in the corporate world. Here is my interpretation of grit, which does not contradict Angela’s original studies but takes it to a real level of observable traits based on real women in our community and the startups they founded.

Believes in possibilities

I do not disagree that founders have to pick an area of interest—something that truly resonates with them, with their values and beliefs—before they explore possibilities. However, when you believe in possibilities, you will look for opportunities and synergies rather than focus on showstoppers, obstacles, and naysayers. It’s not being shortsighted and not based on wishful thinking.

Some degree of “stubbornness” based on a strong belief is not necessarily a bad start. The women that I respect in our community stick to their guns as much as they understand the importance of receiving input and feedback.

Open to explore

Startup founders would always have to find answers for questions like:

• How can we pitch better?
• How should we raise funds?
• How can we find the right team?
• How should we deploy our product/service?
• How can we scale?
• What is the best business model?
• How can we establish partnerships?
• How can we expand overseas?

And it takes courage and tenacity to ask for help. But founders with grit do not give up or look for greener pastures immediately after experiencing rejection for the first time. Instead, they dig deep and pivot while staying focused on their long-term goals. In fact, pivoting is almost a “cult” in the startup world and it somehow correlates to what Angela refers to as “practice.”

Resilient in the face of challenges and failures

Startup founders constantly put themselves out there in an ocean of startups that are also vying for attention and support. Besides having to multitask, there are always gaps yet to be filled and more gaps develop as their companies gain more traction in their respective industries.

Even large corporations have this challenge to deal with, so how much more the toll it takes on early-stage startups that are most likely bootstrapping. Having the resilience to wake up every morning, taking charge of fulfilling the vision in the face of challenges, failures, and rejections (ex. from losing in a pitch competition to being asked by an investor to go back to the drawing board) is not to be underestimated.

Driven by outcome/achievement

Inner strength