I was recently in active conversation with the founder of a really smart, interesting start-up about hiring Otherwise to build their brand. We had a number of long, lively meetings and conversations about virtually every aspect of the business, and it became absolutely clear over the course of our exchanges that I had powerful insight into the business and that Otherwise would make an ideal strategic creative partner.
And then the trouble began. Just as we were finalizing a scope of work and budget, instead of enjoying the prospects of kicking off amazing branding work, the client grew resentful. Not with the marketplace or capital sources or competing traditional business models, but with me! Of all things….So, when in the process did I become a threat instead of an invaluable resource?
The turning point in this story of a prospective client relationship going sour was the moment when it dawned on him that I knew too much.
Too much about the business. Too much about prospective customers. Too much about likely market barriers. Too much about the gaps in funding and strategy. And it make him angry and competitive.
And this isn’t the first time I’ve been down this road.
Out of this and other dramas with entrepreneurs, I have come to understand that being an experienced brand strategist is oftentimes more of an irritation than a source of peace of mind to an insecure business founder. After all, what’s the point of starting your own business if you can’t exercise all of your personal agendas and indulge your idiosyncrasies? Who wants to be surrounded by people who are smarter or have more (or simply different) experience? What fun would that be?!
In case you are wondering what happened….I told this entrepreneur to take a hike. I avoided the temptation to lecture him on his inadequacies, or warn him about the real possibilities that his new venture would fail if he couldn’t take sage advice. Without acrimony or vindictiveness, I simply suggested that he didn’t seem quite ready to undertake one of the most important aspects of breathing life into a new idea—engaging with peers.
In the end, I wish this rejected client all the best. I figure that if he can learn to get out of his own way, the business has a fighting chance to succeed. And for me? It’s just another day in the life of a brand strategist as I continue to seek out entrepreneurs who are wired to work with their equals.