It’s You vs. the Course: Startup Lessons from American Ninja Warrior
Originally a thread on X/Twitter:
1/12: It shouldn’t be a surprise that I love helping #startups. It’s what I do. But a little known fact is that my favorite show is American Ninja Warrior (@ninjawarrior). To me, building a #startup has parallels to ANW that great VCs and Founders should internalize.
2/12: It’s hard to deny that startups generate infectious energy. Founders have no political filters clouding their ideas. They have no higher-ups waiting around to smash their ideas. They don’t care about sacred cows and they don’t care if hundred-year-old brands are shattered.
3/12: What Founders care about is solving problems and being better than those that came before them. But while Founders believes that they’re destined to succeed, statistics would suggest otherwise. They’re most likely going to fail or stall somewhere on the way to greatness.
4/12: So as an Investor, where do I fit in? It’s simple: I’ve come to believe that I exist to help Founders climb Mount Midoriyama.
I assume I’ve probably confused most of you, but just humor me and all will be revealed.
5/12: Mount Midoriyama is a fantastically large steel structure at the end of the world’s most difficult obstacle course. The obstacle course originated in Japan under the name Sasuke, and over a three decade run, only four competitors have completed the course (one twice!).
6/12: Of course, the US had to create its own version of the show, and so was born American Ninja Warrior. The popularity of the show has been growing since it first aired in 2009 and thus far in American Ninja Warrior history, only three Americans have completed the course.
7/12: Contestants train year-round for what could be seconds on the course. A great year for a contestant might be conquering the obstacle that they fell on the previous year. Or it might be to just go out and “represent”. Success means different things to different Ninjas.
8/12: From this a Ninja Warrior community has emerged, and what’s fascinating is that they exist to help each other get better and to help each other succeed. They don’t see themselves in competition with each other, but rather they’re all in competition with Mount Midoriyama.
9/12: Dedicated Ninjas sacrifice just about everything in their lives to train for a course that will almost certainly get the better of them. Each individual knows that he or she is expected to fail but the best of them believe success is possible.
10/12: This is where I feel like I fit into the startup community. If I share a piece of advice that gives a Founder a better chance at success, I’m helping tackle Mount Midoriyama. If I can help a Founder think through a tricky decision, I’m helping tackle Mount Midoriyama.
11/12: And if I have the privilege of watching a Founder make it to the top of Mount Midoriyama, I can relish in the little things I did to help along the way. More importantly, any Founder’s success gives Founders of the future a reason to believe ultimate success is possible.
12/12: So this is why I see a Founder’s journey and a Ninja’s journey as the same. It’s a nearly (but not) impossible task to climb Mount Midoriyama. And there’s nothing that energizes me more than to do what I can to help Founders take on the challenge.