Entrepreneurship #13 - Let's Forget Winner/Loser Culture
Let's promote Doer Culture
I’ve been thinking a lot about competitions lately.
Over the past few months, I’ve attended five venture pitch competitions and judged two of them. During all of that, I noticed something. Nearly all competitions produce a tiny number of winners, while the rest of the contestants leave as losers. Think about it. The ratio of winners to losers in a typical competition rewards only a few - as the vast majority of contestants slink off into the sunset. Ouch!
This result inadvertently encourages the opposite of what I believe the organizers really want. Instead of promoting a robust group of startups that can grow to make their community economically vibrant (which I hope is the organizers’ true goal), it promotes a Winner/Loser Culture where nearly all contestants leave dejected as Losers. Ouch!
I happen to be developing a pitch competition myself, and my purpose most definitely IS to grow my community’s startup ecosystem. I see the competition itself as just a means to an end. Done right it can, over time, grow and catalyze a portfolio of startups. Like all portfolios, individual results will vary, of course. But, branding all but a few as Losers before they hardly even get out of the blocks is insane. All contestants - and especially those who make it to a competition’s semis or finals - are Doers. Let’s respect that, encourage that, and celebrate that!
I don’t claim to have all of the answers, but I do have a few clues.
At the University of Chicago Booth School of Business New Venture Challenge this year (full disclosure - I am a Booth MBA graduate), all 10 finalists received some form of investment. Some received more than others, but ALL won something. Not 1. Not the top 2 or 3. ALL of the finalists received investment. Why? Because they were all worthy.
To make sure contestants are worthy, the Booth School devotes much time and effort to help ventures assemble good teams and then prepares them well, helping them to develop their ventures (not just pitch them). At Innovate WithIN, a competition for Indiana high school students, they also devote time and effort to prepare the contestants - especially the ones who reach the finals.
Both competitions are selective - in their own ways - while being both inclusive for applicants yet selective for contestants. At Innovate WithIN, only a small number of applicants make the regionals - and then only two from each region make the state finals. At Booth, out of 65 applicant ventures this year, 25 were selected to compete. The remainder were privately suggested to do some more work on their ventures and apply again the next year (like the applicants not selected for Innovate WithIN’s regionals). From the 25 (all of whom received significant preparation and mentorship), 10 were selected to pitch in the finals. The 15 that were not selected were given feedback in private, not publicly dismissed on stage during a public final competition. All 65 remain part of the Booth community, just as all regional participants remain an active part of the Innovate WithIN community.
It begs the question, doesn’t it - why would an organizer present finalists that are NOT worthy? Shouldn’t every competitor (or at least finalist) be worthy? For goodness sake, they are all Doers. It is our job as competition organizers to select and prepare them appropriately so that ALL leave feeling a strong, integral part of the community.
Anyone who is an entrepreneur knows that you try, learn, and try again. Doing and learning isn’t a one and done operation. Anyone who is an entrepreneur knows the value of a mentor. The way to a successful community isn’t just to give entrepreneurs one lonely shot and have a judge imply that they failed. The way to success is to work together, prepare well, grow, and encourage all to come back later - either to apply again or to help others.
We want all contestants to walk off proudly into the sun, not slink dejectedly off into the sunset. We want to empower Doers who shine!