5 New Habits for the New Year
What’s the point of celebrating the new year if you aren’t going to make a bunch of resolutions that you immediately break?
On second thought, how about we try to do better than that for 2024?
Here are 5 new habits that every founder can begin this week to start the new year off strong:
1. Send Your First Investor Update of the Year This Weekend
At least, I hated writing them when I was a founder. But sending them on a regular basis was one of the most important habits I developed as a CEO. It helped my investors stay abreast of what was happening through the ebbs and flows of my startup journey. And, it’s one of the reasons why Foundry Group had the conviction to double-down on their investment when we hadn’t quite hit our metrics.
In an environment like today’s, when many startups will need to look for additional funding from inside investors, sending regular updates is crucial. Keeping your investors up-to-date won’t guarantee they’ll invest again, but not sending regular updates almost certainly ensures that they won’t.
So send your first investor update this weekend. Even if you think it sucks. Even if it’s missing pieces. Just hit send.
Then do it again in 2 weeks.
And again 2 weeks after that.
2. Ask Your Investors if They Still ❤️ You
When times are good and term sheets are flowing, founders don’t think a lot about whether or not their investors will follow-on in the future. But in times like these, it’s essential that founders know where they stand. Yet most don’t have a clue.
Start off 2024 by having “the talk” and asking each and every investor on your cap table, “Do You Still ❤️ Me?”.
Then do it again in 3 months.
And at the start of every quarter after that.
Combine quarterly investor check-ins with weekly investor updates and you’ll be in a much stronger position come fundraising time.
3. Calibrate Your 2024 Goals
Most founders start each year off by revisiting their KPIs from the past year and setting their goals for the new year. But not many founders calibrate those goals externally.
Make sure that you’re setting the right goals for the year by getting feedback from those around you:
Send your 2024 objectives to each investor on your cap table with an explanation of why you set those goals and a simple question: “Do you think these are the correct objectives for this year? Why or why not?”
Then, send them to your advisors and founder friends (your pit crew) to see what they think.
If you’re planning to fundraise at any time in 2024 or 2025, take it one step further: reach out to 3-5 investors whom you would like to lead your next round, share the deck from your most recent round and your objectives for 2024 with a simple ask: “If we hit these objectives, would it be enough for you to take a meeting regarding our <Seed, Series A, etc.> at the end of the year?” Every investor I know would gladly take 5 minutes to give you that kind of feedback (read this post to understand why).
Then do it again in 3 months.
And at the start of every quarter after that.
4. Get Up and Move
While the pandemic massively accelerated the adoption of remote work, it left us with one major “advancement” that is detrimental to our collective health: video calls.
The fidelity of Zoom and its ilk have unquestionably improved the effectiveness of our calls (by allowing us to see and interpret facial expressions). At the same time, they’ve left most of us sitting for far more hours each day than we used to.
So change things up for 2024:
Replace as many of your recurring Zoom calls as you can with phone calls (e.g. weekly 1x1 calls with coworkers, investors, etc. — all those folks who already know what you look like)
Then, get up and move!
One of my fitness hacks going back 15+ years is to take all of my phone calls in a room where I can stand up and walk in a circle. It might sound silly, but I can easily get 10,000+ steps a day by simply pacing while I’m on the phone.
5. Replace One Meal Per Week with Something Healthier
Many people start off the new year with a one-time reset, like having no alcohol for the month of January. But long-term improvements come from long-term adjustments.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t do “dry January”. But take whatever you’re already planning to do and add one small, sustainable tweak. Small, changes can lead to big improvements. So make one:
If you normally eat fast food at lunch, pick one day a week and order a salad. Every week on that same day.
If you typically eat a lot of carbs in the morning, pick one day a week and have a carb-free breakfast (eggs, yogurt, etc.).
If you eat a lot of meat, pick one day a week and order a vegetarian dish.
If you always order fries, pick one day a week and order a side salad.
If you normally drink regular soda, swap out diet soda one day a week.
If you typically have a beer after work, pick one day a week and have something non-alcoholic.
And so on. You can even do it as a team to support each other and make it fun.
The point isn’t to overhaul your entire diet, it’s to make one tiny, sustainable, change. (Just don’t be surprised when that small change expands to encapsulate your whole week).
(And if you’re looking for some healthier options, keep an eye on my new weekly food blog 😉.)