Hult Alumni Magazine Hult Alumni Magazine 2020 | Page 64

Entrepreneur in Residence MBA Class of 2015 London, UK palqee.com “I compare it to being in a bad rela- tionship,” says Sabrina today, now busy and settled in her role as entre- preneur-in-residence within an in- dependent family office. “You’re so Silicon Valley has, since its earliest days, advocated passionate about it, but you get to a where you can’t continue and the benefits of failure. Whether failing hard or fail- point have to make the cut. Things come ing fast, these are not just slogans but ways of life for and go that give you hope and make re-engage with your idea, and so some of the biggest names in technology today. But you you push another few months, but to what does it really feel like to close a venture of your do it over and over is exhausting.” telling the wider team and own making? What are the learnings, and how do their After multiple circles of support, the you dust yourself off to try again? MBA graduate entrepreneurs were down—but not “I knew I wasn’t finished,” says and serial entrepreneur Sabrina Palme shares her out. Sabrina. “As much as those last experience of coming through the flames fighting. months were draining, we didn’t re- gret a moment. The MBA had given us a lot of the knowledge we needed for Gartenzwerg; but Gartenzwerg was a whole life-changing experi- ence by itself.” Buoyed with a new confidence and perspective, both she and Andre have gone on to develop a new venture, currently at ideation stage, that will push businesses to tackle increasingly important ques- tions around data ethics. Both personally and profession- ally, Sabrina continues to grow her knowledge and adapt to the chang- ing working landscape: “For me, there was always a horror that what- ever I ended up studying, I might get stuck with it. I’m currently teaching myself C++, as an absolute beginner. It’s about redefining your skillset, gaining new skills, because we are just moving so far and fast in tech- nology and development. Discipline is key—that’s one of the challenges of teaching yourself new things.” For all the fear around the term, it would seem then that failure isn’t, in fact, all that bad? “The most diffi- cult part for me was telling people who had invested in us and ordered our products,” says Sabrina, “because In early 2018, things were looking good for Gartenzwerg, the hydroponics I felt like we had let them down. We venture started by Hult alumni Sabrina and Andre Quintanilha. With a had some uncomfortable conversa- prototype in place and market demand growing for their IoT-driven indoor tions, but the majority of people gardens, the team was on the hunt for funding. “It was never an issue of in- were very supportive. To develop a terest from investors,” says Sabrina of the project. “But they wanted to hardware product is huge; it may come on board after we’d manufactured our first batch.” Without the means have failed, but I don’t feel devastat- to go into large-scale production, it soon became clear that the business ed by that.” In that spirit: it’s on to the next one. would need to make the difficult decision to cease operations. Sabrina Palme 62 Ways of Learning Starting Up, Starting Over 10 Lessons to Take into Your Next Venture 1. Stay true to you 6. Take a deep breath The startup world is, by nature, hectic, volatile, and On that note: channel calm wherever possible. all-consuming. “It’s easy to get caught up in it all and keep pushing for things,” says Sabrina. “On the inside you get so stressed out. Once outside, you see the issues 7. It’s a rollercoaster. Ride it. are fewer.” No one ever said startup life was easy. Prepare yourself mentally for the risks ahead by seeing the venture like a rollercoaster: there will be highs, lows, fear, exhilara- 2. Bootstrap your business tion, and more. “We read stories about founders who Early-stage businesses can get stuck in the cycle of need- were losing everything and neatly turned it all around,” ing to create product to prove worth, but needing fund- says Sabrina. “It’s inspiring, of course, but not the typi- ing to create product. Focusing on the latter can lead to cal journey.” hasty decisions. Bootstrap as much as you can, and get creative. You’ll create value, keep ownership, and get investors coming to you. 8. Little bit of luck 3. Right time, right place, right people all have their roles to play, and that can’t always be in your control. Hedge your bets and get out there. Whatever you do, own it. Don’t make it work for the sake of working: “It’s not my mentality anymore. Others will always have different views, but if I know how I want this thing to work and 9. The F word what I want it to look like, I’m not going to deviate too much from it.” “Honestly, the feeling of failure didn’t hit me as hard as I thought it would,” reflects Sabrina. “It’s easy for people to judge and say, ‘But you studied business, how did you fail?’ To them I would ask, well, what have you done? 4. Listen, but not too much We tried, we had the guts to go ahead, and now things Speaking of others … be selective with feedback. Yes, you move on. It’s very much in how you deal with it.” will receive a lot. No, you don’t need to take it all onboard. 5. 10. The playbook is in your pocket You’ve got experience on your side—and knowledge is power. “Having been through it all once, you’ll under- stand the development, what’s going to happen, the steps ahead—the next business model may not be exact- ly the same but you’ve got the playbook, and that in itself is calming.” Be proud Perhaps the easiest to forget in the moment, but most important of all: you did it. “We still have the original Gartenzwerg at home, working like a charm,” says Sabrina. “It’s a reminder to me not just to live more sustainably and live those values, but of not regretting the journey. I’m proud of what we achieved and how far we got.” Calling all entrepreneurs! Inspired by Sabrina’s learnings? Looking for support from fellow business owners? See pp. 68–69 for an exciting new initiative in the Hult community. Ways of Learning 63