Many people have likened founding your own startup to climbing Mount Everest. Well, everyone has their own Mount Everest. For some, it may be learning coding, moving from back-end to full-stack or product manager, or even as simple as getting out there and network. There isn’t anything wrong with that, and in fact, outdoor adventures can teach us a lot about startups!
Personally, I’ve put my feet in both entrepreneurship (which, in my opinion, is not just about founding startups but being innovative in life in general too), as well as my side passion – outdoor adventure and running races.
I strongly believe that outside of work, everyone must have a passion that has measurable goals that they can work towards – be it upgrading your piano certification, upping your DOTA level, or in my case, clocking better timings for every race I run. In my adventures all over Singapore and Asia, here’s what I learnt:
Rock climbing
Photo credit: Stefanos Nikologianis
Determination
Once you set out on a route, do not give up easily, but give up when you know you definitely can’t reach the top. In bouldering, you can always try again, but in top-rope climbing, just as in many real-life situations, there is seldom enough energy for a second chance.
Agile development
It’s important to plan your route but things change and situations when you’re on the wall can be very different from what you foresaw from the ground. Always adapt and don’t take things for granted!
Empathy
You may think someone is a noob for not being able to scale past a panel that looks easy, but when it’s your turn, you understand why.
Trust
Trust your belayer, trust your co-founder(s)! They both hold the rope when you fall.
Free fall activities – e.g. paragliding, skydiving, bungee jumping
Photo credit: Neil Hall
Cycling/mountain biking
Kayaking
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