🚜 Farming vs. Hustling

👋 Hi there - it’s Egemen. Thanks for reading Scalable.

A critical element in building startup culture is the approach and the attitude of leadership.

When it gets tough, don’t be afraid of making mistakes. One of the ways of compensating for your mistakes will be relying on your team as much as you can.

This week, I’m sharing some dos and donts for you so you don’t shoot yourself in the foot when you have to make tough decisions, especially when it comes to team management.

Thinking like a farmer helps.

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🧠 Deep-Dive: Thinking Like a Farmer

Building a startup is a lot like farming.

You plant seeds, nurture them, and wait for them to grow—but you can’t rush the process. Adopting a farmer’s mindset can help you stay patient for the ups and downs.

Don’t Shout at the Crops

No matter how loud you yell, plants won’t grow faster—and neither will your business.

Growth takes time, whether it’s users discovering your product, customers making decisions, or your team hitting its stride.
Instead of getting frustrated, ask yourself:

• How can I support the process?

• Can I streamline a workflow, learn from customer feedback, or celebrate small wins to keep everyone motivated?

Don’t Blame the Crops for Growing Slowly

If your crops aren’t thriving, it’s not their fault.
With your startup, take a step back and figure out what’s really going on:

• Is the market ready for what you’re offering? Timing matters.

• Are you solving the right problem for the right audience?
  Blame won’t solve anything, but digging into the "why" might.

Don’t Uproot Crops Too Soon

Plants need time to grow roots. Pulling them up too early ruins all the hard work.

Startups are the same—don’t give up or pivot too quickly just because results aren’t instant. Give your strategies time to play out and only pivot when you have enough data to make a smart decision.

Plant What Works in Your Soil

Farmers pick crops that grow best in their environment. You need to do the same. If your market doesn’t have the right conditions for your product, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Adapt your offering to fit your audience, or look for a market better suited to what you’ve built.

Irrigate and Fertilize Regularly

Plants don’t thrive on their own—they need water and nutrients. Your business is no different.

• Water: Keep engaging with your customers, whether it’s through thoughtful communication or excellent service.

• Fertilizer: Invest in things that help your business grow, like team development, better tools, or targeted marketing.

Pull Out the Weeds

Weeds steal resources from the plants that matter. In your startup, these weeds could be:

• Side projects that distract from your main goal.

• Team conflicts or bad dynamics that drag everyone down.

• Inefficiencies that waste time and money.
  Be ruthless about cutting out anything that doesn’t add value to your business.

Prepare for Good Seasons and Bad

Farmers know they can’t control the weather. Some seasons bring great harvests; others bring droughts or storms.

Your startup will have its own cycles of highs and lows. External factors—like the economy, competition, or customer behavior—are often out of your hands.

What you can do is prepare:

• Build a resilient team.

• Diversify revenue streams.

• Keep cash reserves for tough times.
  Celebrate the good seasons and stay steady during the bad ones.

When you feel overwhelmed, remember this: Great businesses, like great harvests, aren’t built overnight.

👉 Focus on planting the right seeds and watering them daily. The results will follow.

🗺️ Method: Your Secret Weapon As A Founder

Since we talked about team management and leadership this week, I wanted to share a nice little tweet/clip I came across in X by Lenny.

📹 Video just short of 3 minutes, definitely watch it - Lenny is an inspiration!

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⚾️ Catch

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