I've been fortunate enough to have worked within 2 great venture backed startups in my career. Both completely different, but both have had top of the line investors that believed in our team and gave us good reason to believe in them. VC groups like Trinity Ventures, Benchmark, and CRV - all of whom have a track record of success (not to mention they are filled with amazing leaders as well that truly care about the companies they invest in).
As a venture backed company, the team goals almost always tie back to what the board/investors want to see. We've always used KPI's for each team to help define some quantitative metrics that we need to hit in order to show growth within the company and also please the investors.
Earlier in my career, I thought these KPI's were just numbers that our management team put together as something to shoot for each month/quarter/year.
What I didn't realize, is that these numbers are not only what management is looking to see, but they are numbers that our board has helped put together as well. They know what they are looking for and they know what success (or signs of future success) looks like - based on experience.
With that in mind, there is a lot of noise that goes on in startups, or with any company for that matter. Meetings, 1 on 1 conversations, slack channels, etc. can create a lot of clutter/distractions for people. At my current company (Gatsby), my manger (our VP of Sales) sets a great example in how he works and how he works with me. Everything that we do, every conversation we have - we always try to tie it back to “How does this help us hit our KPI's?"
Having that mentality and taking it into my day to day work has helped me become more effective as a team member. It's been a great approach because it sets a direction and makes decision making a little easier for everyone.
Trust your team, trust management, and trust the investors that believed in your team in the first place. Make it a point to tie everything back to the main goal "How does this help us hit our KPI's?" and every small step will be a step forward in the right direction.
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