The reality of building a winning team
Real lessons on startup leadership from the trenches: how honesty, patience, and learning from mistakes builds winning teams.
Every startup founder thinks they're ready for the championship game on day one. I did, too, when I started zazzy. In reality, we were barely ready for practice. Here's what nobody tells you about startup leadership: It's not about being the star player. It's about building a team that can play through any season.
Just like you can't build a championship team overnight, you can't rush a startup's growth. We learned this the hard way during our early days. I still remember, in the very early days, for two straight months, we had zero projects. Zero. The scoreboard was empty, but our team stayed united. That taught me my first real leadership lesson: your team's resilience during tough times matters more than your strategy during good times.
Then came what I call our "desperate rookie move." After that project drought, we got an offer. The pay was 70% below our standard rate, and the client waved more red flags than a soccer referee. But like a desperate team signing the wrong player, we took the deal. It backfired spectacularly.
That project became our worst nightmare. The client didn't value our work, time, or team effort. We learned an expensive lesson: Not every game is worth playing. Sometimes, walking away is the best strategy. I also realised one thing we follow to date: never ignore your gut feelings.
During all this time, I learned something very important as an entrepreneur: Your team watches you more than the scorecard. Your actions make the team a team. During those two months without projects, I chose radical honesty. I shared our challenges, our plans, and our fears. The team stuck around, and we got stronger.
Think of your startup like a sports team in training:
Some days are for drills (building processes)
Some for strategy (planning growth)
Some for recovery (learning from failures)
But every day is for building trust and making them comfortable with the process. The best coaches don't just focus on winning today's game. They build teams that can win championships. That means:
Not rushing rookies into big games (taking time to train new team members)
Not ignoring injuries (addressing team issues early)
Not skipping practice (maintaining quality even when on a tight deadline)
Four years later, zazzy is a different team. Stronger. More resilient. But we still remember those early lessons.
Our job as leaders is to create an environment where talent can thrive, mistakes are learning opportunities, and honesty trumps false positivity.
What kind of leader is your team seeing today?