A reflection from the Founders’ Fables roundtable event
Sitting in a room with some of the North East’s key business founders is a real privilege –
one that very few can experience without joining that elite crew themselves. Being
surrounded by leaders from across sectors, each at different stages of their growth
journeys, and all displaying a vast array of battle scars from building their businesses in
a Chatham House Rules setting, one thing is perfectly clear: what binds them together
is…
Passion.
It’s a word that is often thrown around – sometimes too often – when talking about
starting and growing businesses. “The team are passionate”, “the region is driven by its
passion”, and so on. But what it truly comes down to is this: the single unifying factor
among the business leaders in this room was genuine, undiluted passion for their craft.
From digital to consultancy, PR and brand, funding, business development, and change
and transformation, the mix of founders were united in a single mission for one morning:
to discuss their own voyage, how they have steered their ship to where they are today,
and what they have learned along the way.
Lively conversation flowed easily as the founders explored the key characteristics of
business leaders. Are there particular traits that can predispose someone to being
successful? From this room, the answer was a clear yes:
• Passion
• Humility
• Agility
• Adaptability
• Thirst for knowledge
• Tenacity and grit
Passion – You must love what you do. Truly love it. Founding and growing a business
cannot be done successfully without being ‘all in’.
Humility – You need to surround yourself with people and strategies that support your
goals, champion you when you need it most, and keep you focused when it wanders.
Being consciously aware of the vulnerability that comes with being a founder is key.
Drawing on personal experiences, delegates discussed their ways of avoiding burnout,
supporting their vision, and what they felt they had to sacrifice to get to where they are
today.
Agility – Constantly needing to move, physically and metaphorically. Many of the
founders find respite in physical activity or simply ‘being on the go’ to gain clarity for
their business thinking, while also allowing themselves time to learn new skills beyond
their core functions.
Thirst for Knowledge – Staying relevant, learning, and growing is a cornerstone for this
group. Many agreed that if they had free time “to spare”, they’d fill it with something
productive – reading, investing, developing skills to continue their journey in whatever
form it takes. These founders rarely binge-watch Netflix; they keep going and keep
learning.
Adaptability – You must be able to adapt, evolve, and remain agile at all times. Standing
still is not an option for a successful founder – but adapting while in motion is just as
vital. Statements like “Get used to being uncomfortable” were shared throughout the
discussion, highlighting how challenging our human response to change can be.
Tenacity and Grit – As businesses based or born in the North East, the founders are perhaps predisposed to embody this cliché of a phrase. The region is known for its grit – for getting back up and trying again. In this room, it has never been more apparent.
Hearing the stories of the founders, their challenges and successes, reminds us that at
the heart of it all, they are human. They are real people driving our communities forward
in countless ways that can be easy to overlook. Distracted by the new ‘next best thing’,
we often forget the experience and skills that have built the businesses we admire – who
started them, who leads them today, and who sets the example for the next generation.
So whether you recognise yourself in the traits of a founder, or you are tenacious enough
to try anyway, one thing is clear: we need more people like these – people committed to
creating opportunities for all.
One founder even remarked, after all… “How hard can it be?”
Well, while it cannot be categorically quantified, what we do know now is that it can be
very hard – but ultimately, incredibly rewarding.