On Startups and Velodromes
What high-speed bike racing is teaching me about startups.
Originally published on Medium, July 30, 2014.
I honed my drafting skills — forty windy predawn miles at a time — on SF2G and practiced standing starts after every red light in New York City. Now, I’m an amateur racer at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. I’m also cofounder and CEO of Textizen, a mobile messaging platform for public agencies to access & analyze difficult-to-reach audiences like never before.
Some say bikes are the new golf. I say the velodrome’s complex strategies and sheer speed aren’t simply a vehicle for networking. It’s excellent practice for strength, scrappiness, and resilience.
1. It’s not supposed to be easy.
Velodromes: In most bike races, drafting provides a 15-30% energy advantage so you want to draft as long and as cagily as possible. On the velodrome, fitness only gets you so far on the track. You also need a well-honed sense of strategy, tactics, and timing.
In the miss-and-out race format, the last rider across the line on each lap is eliminated, so the protected position is actually the most vulnerable one. A good way to win a miss-and-out (thanks, coach!) is to stick your nose in the wind: ride from the front, and avoid the scrum altogether.
Startups: You spend years learning to be good at your job. You finally unravel the mysteries of the promotion ladder, and earned enough credibility that colleagues will go to bat for your sometimes wacky ideas. Guess what? When you leave an established company for a startup, it’s a new game with new rules. Every day is the hardest day of work you’ve ever done.
Lesson: Don’t worry, it’s hard for everyone else too. Embrace it.
2. Being mid-heart attack does not excuse you from math.
Velodromes: In a tempo or points race, the winner isn’t simply the first across the line. Each lap offers a varying number of points, so the race plays out like this: SPRINT ADD SPRINT ADD SPRINT. Arithmetic is a lot harder when your heart is pounding at 202 beats per minute.
Startups: One minute you’re digging into logs to examine system latency in milliseconds. The next, you’re formulating multiyear financial projections.
Lesson: Making quick calculations with a half-digested lunch is in your throat is excellent practice for juggling client negotiations, bookings vs. revenue, latency calculations, and multiyear projections at the same time.
3. Look far ahead, or face the consequences.
Velodromes: Last month the Canadian and Dutch national teams were in town setting a blistering pace, and I was thrilled to find myself hanging tight onto the rider ahead of me. Meanwhile, a gap was growing 5 riders ahead. By the time our group shattered at 36mph, it was too late to bridge the (now even bigger) gap. Game over.
Startups: Tackle any challenging, meaningful problem, and your initial foray will be rewarded with early interest and press. But don’t rest on these laurels. Learn how to tell the difference between buzz and leads with a dose of healthy skepticism, and qualify ruthlessly.
Takeaway: The real action is all up the road. Look 3 steps ahead, or face the consequences.
4. Winners play offense.
Velodromes: A few years ago, I got pretty good at finding a good wheel and reacting quickly to their finishing punches. Nice tactic, if your goal is a top 5, top 10, or getting in the money. But to win? Focus on the line — or even beyond it — and unleash the sprint when it’s your best time to go.
Startups: “You should partner with Company X because they have great distribution.” “Do you ever go head-to-head with Product Y?” For startups, I view these as conversation starters rather than alarm bells. Six months later, each of these companies are quite different. Playing whack-a-feature would have been a big distraction.
Takeaway: Know your competition, but choose your own moves.
Lastly…
Should you be interested in learning any of these lessons yourself — the hard and sweaty way — each of the nation’s 26 velodromes offers beginner clinics as well as elite events. Check out Hellyer Park Velodrome in San Jose, CA; Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, PA; and Kissena Velodrome in New York City.