“Part-time employers don’t work”
This one will rumble on and on. Diving into Zero 2 One, to revisit some principles of advice for #Start Ups, first published in 2014, has some pertinent points but much that belies its age. “Even working remotely should be avoided, because mis-alignment can creep whenever colleagues aren’t together full-time, in the same place, every day” is a piece of advice that seems from a distant business utopia or an out of touch MP.
National news reported this week that many National Rail employees just can’t afford the train fare to get to work. NHS staff reporting in sick because petrol too expensive. We are in a new and established era of hybrid working. This is the new way of working.
I get the sentiment of full time, in the flesh all together, giving us the interaction to create more action but the reality is that view is now rather “quaint”. So where does success come from in this hybrid world?
New to this game
As a newbie in the #StartUp game, it is some of these core principles that present as one of the earliest challenges. Finding the right co-founder and team with a business rooted in some clear values, is one of the trickiest tasks. Adopting a new industry, as many industries merge, means that I once did seriously consider a matchmaking founder’s app along the lines of LoveMatch. When such #trust is involved, so early on, in a business where #mistakes and #vulnerability is the every day, one quickly realises why so many #StartUps are founded by those who have already seen the real ups and downs of you as a person. How many are a result of sharing a kebab at two o’clock in the morning and the knowledge of your own previous dodgy mistakes, shared and laughed about in the days of hedonism I wonder?
Global founders miles apart
So it is heartening to read this week of an investment success for two women working across time zones as this set-up mirrors the first chapter of Yakbit.
https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/this-female-founded-startup-wants-to-build-better-managers-and-just-raised-6-8-million-in-seed-funding-to-do-it/
Jo Hughes https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-hughes-9084385/ and I have a long history, based on trust and experience of each other in both the continuing times of the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly. We are both working mums with a very normal complicated and multi-role life. Recognising that full time, all the time, may be a desire for some is not a reality for many in this world anymore.
So far, we have the joy of spanning a large time window and the necessary drive and determination to work together in ways that are physically, mentally and emotionally recognisant . We have both local and global plans for Yakbit and know that it has a thriving future marketplace in both the UK, Australia and beyond. A good place to start.