Founders can’t escape the growing pains, but loving what you do makes it easier

After spending nearly a year interviewing a wide range of entrepreneurs, Jennifer Sieg takes a look at why passion is essential for success.

I’ve been interviewing entrepreneurs – both old and new – for nearly a year now. If there’s one big takeaway from the past 11 months, it’s that each and every one of them is just as similar as they are different. 

From sitting down with the founder of a greetings cards start-up to the man behind the UK’s largest car insurer (a FTSE 100 company now worth £8.4bn) I’ve been lucky enough to experience a range of different businesses, business models and founders. 

Success might look different to everyone, but you’d be surprised how similar founders’ journeys – and the problems they face every day – really are. 

For example, who would have guessed the growing pains of building a groundbreaking tech start-up would be the same as someone who’s running an independent restaurant in the heart of the City? 

You can’t escape the growing pains 

As a start-up, growing pains are inevitable. Your idea will eventually grow from more than a few pieces of paper to a sustainable business venture, and when it does, you must be ready for what’s to come. 

I once spoke with a founder who’s bootstrapped her business for over 17 years. She’s just now finding herself joining in on the ‘fun’ of fundraising, a journey she never anticipated to be so difficult.

Especially because only 2p of every £1 of equity funding in the UK goes to female-founded businesses — yes, only 2 per cent — and despite all of the talk of boosting funding in recent years, that figure hasn’t changed in a decade. 

You might think that after two decades of building a business, you would have things figured out. But that assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. 

The reality is that the start-up ecosystem — whether it be in tech, hospitality, or retail — has never been easy. 

The reality is that the start-up ecosystem — whether it be in tech, hospitality, or retail — has never been easy. 

From funding challenges and regulatory hurdles to high operational costs and shortage of accessible talent, the list only continues to grow. 

After sitting down with well over 100 founders now, I can confidently say that if you don’t have a burning passion for what you’re doing, you’re going to struggle. 

Just yesterday, for example, I spoke with the founder of one of the UK’s fastest-growing start-ups, D. Louise, who told me that naming her jewellery brand after her late mother is the reason that she’s picked herself up on days she didn’t think she could. 

Could it be as simple as the meaning behind your brand’s name? Or the impact you are hoping to make for future generations to come? 

Whatever your passion is, the power of resilience that comes with it will be the same – no matter what venture you find yourself in – and the growing pains will soon become a thing of the past as long as you reflect on what’s truly important. 

You might even come to find that the lows are just as valuable as the highs. That is, as long as you enjoy the bumpy ride that comes with each. 

As my good friend Henry Engelhardt, founder of insurance firm Admiral Group, which has been named a ‘Great Place to Work’ for 23 years in a row, told me: “If people like what they do, they do it better.”