Building a company can sometimes feel like a really long slog — and that’s okay

Recently, I chanced upon an article on TechCrunch that explored the nitty-gritty details of the fundraising process. The writer, Danny Crichton, wrote about how the process of fundraising is often more intricate and chaotic than what is perceived through the lens of tech media.

Funding rounds often take place in tranches and can take the form of multiple financing structures —  angel investments, grants, convertible notes, etcetera — and are participated by multiple parties. These rounds can take up to months or even years to complete before they are sent to the process; and then, in a few days, get amalgamated into the ceaseless stream of funding announcements — becoming another footnote in the tech news cycle.

e27, like most tech media, fuel and feed the public’s appetite for good (and bad) tidings of the tech industry. More often than not, when a company raises a funding round, we only hear about it when their communications team issues a press release about it.

Usually, it will contain a couple of ‘feel-good, pat-on-the-back’ press statements about how the founders are pleased to have accomplished this milestone and how the investors are optimistic about taking the company to the next level. And then some statistics about the company’s growth status and a few words about how they will use the newly-raised investment.

Now, that’s not me being cynical about tech coverage. Good news is better than no news; in fact, more funding news means that investors are still bullish about the landscape and that will lift the spirits of many hardworking entrepreneurs.

What we don’t often hear, as the aforementioned TechCrunch article correctly points out, is the founders’ arduous and sometimes treacherous path towards hitting their funding goal. Behind the carefully-worded press releases, there is a story that needs to be told: a story of human perseverance.

Convey the good, the bad, and the ugly side of the business

If the near-demise of Honestbee has taught me anything, it is that we as journalists need to be bolder and more assiduous in digging out the full story; we need to hold our ears close to the ground and listen for the distant rumblings that are not so apparent to the eye.

We believe that the media, as cliche as it may sound, plays an important role as gatekeepers (the explosive exposé on Theranos by the Wall Street Journal is a great example). A credible media platform should have the tenacity and fortitude to hold the ecosystem accountable and call out bad actors, even in the face of legal threats.

But besides tackling the shady elements of the tech industry, the media should also not shy away from approaching founders with more incisive, hard-hitting questions — questions that will uncover the honest inner workings of tech companies. 95 per cent of startups fail — yes — but a good chunk of the 5 per cent that made it went through hell and back to get to where they are.

So it goes without saying that there are a lot of unglamorous elements founders have to tackle when building their startups. For many reasons, they may not feel inclined or comfortable to reveal them, but with the right line of questioning (and establishing of trust) I’m sure they can be persuaded.

Also Read: Answer these 5 questions before you scale up your tech startup

It behooves the media to present the whole picture of the startup journey — warts and all — to the audience. And founders should be forthcoming about their struggles.

If you think about it, a great story is one where the protagonist is relatable; one who has vulnerabilities and setbacks to overcome (haven’t you ever wondered why most Superman films often get a lukewarm response?).

And the statistics don’t lie, a quick check on our Google Analytics page shows such stories are a hit with our audience. Behind the success of a startup valued in the hundreds of millions are sleepless nights, moments of self-doubts and existential angst; there’s no sugarcoating it — the startup life is tough — and we should describe it as such if we are want to be honest to our readers.

These stories go a long way than just being news announcements, and they become evergreen reading material that readers will always find relevant.

At e27, as much we can, we like to conduct detailed interviews with founders every time they raise round to find out what went behind the scenes — as we did with Carro‘s latest funding round. But we can do better.

And we could definitely use your help.

Guest writing for us

We run a pretty lean team here, so, unfortunately, we may not have the bandwidth to do a deep dive into every founding story.

But you, the entrepreneur or stakeholder of the ecosystem, maybe you have always wanted a platform to share the struggles you faced on the road to success. Or maybe, you had to shut down your company and there are learnings that you believe will be valuable to our readers.

Well, e27 is the right platform for you then. They are no ‘wrong’ thoughts — we welcome them all, even if it is incendiary or controversial (of course, within reasonable boundaries).

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If you feel that you would like to pay it forward by sharing your story, feel free to submit your musings here or email us at writers@e27.co to discuss your ideas.

You can also join our e27 Telegram group here, or our e27 contributor Facebook page here.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Image Credit: Chaivit Chana

The post We need to be bolder in telling honest stories about the tech ecosystem appeared first on e27.