I quit my job to try to change the world. This is what I've learned so far. Year 2.

Two years ago I quit my job to try to ‘change the world’.

Last year I wrote an article reflecting on what I had learned during the first year after co-founding We Make Change. I received such a positive response that I’ve decided to do this every year to reflect on the trials and tribulations of founding a startup and making change happen.

The purpose of the original piece was to provide comfort to those who had been through the tragically fulfilling experience of being a founder, while offering insight to those who are thinking of taking the leap, or who just want to make some change in the world.

With that in mind, these are the top 10 lessons that I’ve learned during the second year of this strange adventure. Some build on lessons learned in year one (you can check all of those out here), while others have come as more of a surprise. Here we go…

1. People are amazing

[Keith, Rosie (We Make Change Chief People Officer) and myself at Web Summit in Lisbon!]

I started last year’s article with the same lesson. I still find it to be as true as ever. Perhaps even more so. Because our entire organisation is still built on the willingness of people to give their time for free. That includes the dozens of people working in our internal team, as well as our community of ChangeMakers who use our platform to volunteer their skills to support the causes they care about (which has grown from 2,000 to now over 17,000 people during the last year!).

Although a lot of people have come and gone along the way, many have stayed all the same. It still inspires me that there are so many people who are so motivated to make change that when given the opportunity they will give up so much to make it happen.

I want to give one personal example to highlight what I mean. One person who has stuck with us along the way is my mentor and friend Keith Williams. He works at Facebook in San Francisco, as well as being a member of the We Make Change Advisory Board.

We were first connected by a mutual contact almost two years ago. After a 30 minute conversation, he agreed to have a weekly call with me to help guide me through the challenges and strains that come with running a startup.

We have had that weekly call pretty much every week since. Each time we do, I expect him to say that he can’t do it anymore. Like most people he’s got work, other projects, and the rest of life to deal with, in addition to hearing me yapping on about revenue generation (more on that later!). Not only has he stuck around, but his commitment has grown. He even came all the way to Lisbon to help us exhibit at Web Summit!

It is people like Keith (and there are many others I could mention) who make me believe that people really are amazing!

2. People can be unreliable

[Taking part in a sleep out in support of a homelessness charity]

Having said that…I have also seen how unreliable some people can be. It is rarely intentional, because unreliability often comes as a result of the best intentions. It is only when people are unable to meet their intentions that they reveal their unreliability.

When growing an organisation with a volunteer team, a standard question to ask when recruiting people is ‘How much time do you think you can commit to a volunteer role?’. Everybody overestimates the time they can — and are willing — to give. They’ll say ‘I’ve got evenings and weekends free.’ What people rarely consider is that you also have the rest of life to deal with beyond your work — friends, family, admin, etc.

They understandably want to please you in order to get the role. But honesty is the best policy. It’s more personally frustrating and organisationally damaging to say you can do ‘x’ hours when you can only do ‘x/2’.

3. It is a personal journey

[[Left] At the launch of our crowdfunding campaign two years ago. [Right] What two years of doing this can do to you.]

Those photos above really are both me! They are taken just two years apart. The first, when I had just quit my job to work on We Make Change full time. The second, two years after having made that decision.

Regardless of what you think of my personal evolution (I’ve received decent reviews for the beard at least!), it signifies something more significant about running a startup; it is a personal journey. My outward appearance is a physical manifestation of an internal journey that I’ve been carried on along the way.

I can understand why other startup founders have had a similarly dramatic change in appearance (most notably, Jack Dorsey of Twitter). Each day is like a mini adventure. Some are more interesting than others, but you are never sure what will happen tomorrow. Each day you are forced to make decisions that will determine the destiny not only of yourself, but everyone else involved in your startup — your team, your users, as well as the organisation itself. That emotional rollercoaster means you are almost forced to explore your beliefs, capabilities and character in more depth, and at a more frenetic pace, than those who have not been in such a position.

That is why you come to discover more about yourself than you will have ever known. For me, the hair, the beard and the shirts (yeah — I just have a wardrobe full of blue and white versions of that shirt you see in my recent photo!) signify a breaking of the conventions that I didn’t even know I was following. It was the soul searching that running a startup entails that forced me to question so much of what I otherwise took for granted.

I think it was Gandhi that said something along the lines of, ‘You must change yourself if you want to change the world.’ I think he should have also added that in trying to change the world, you will also change yourself.

4. Define your purpose and stick to it

[Presenting at an EU Industry Day in Brussels after being selected as an EU Young Leader of Industry]

In last year’s piece, I wrote quite extensively about purpose. A year on, I want to just reinforce some of the elements I covered. Because whether it’s founding a startup, or running any organisation, you MUST have a clear purpose.

In my previous work as a strategy consultant for NGOs, I was amazed at how many large, established organisations do not have a clear purpose. I would walk into a room of senior managers and ask each of them to tell me why the organisation exists. In many cases, each person would give me a different answer. If your purpose is not clear at that level, it’s sure not going to be consistent throughout the rest of the organisation; and even less so to people outside of it.

Every organisation should have a purpose that it can express in one sentence. It won’t explain exactly what you do or how you do it, but that is not what it is for. Your purpose is your north star — to guide every decision the organisation makes as to what and how to fulfil it.

Once you have determined that purpose, you should stick to it. Of course it may slightly change or become more refined over time, but the idea should remain fundamentally the same.

At We Make Change, our purpose is to give you the power to change the world. What we do — enabling anyone, anywhere to use their skills to support the causes they care about — and how we do it — connecting individuals, NGOs and companies to develop projects that make change happen — are a consequence of that purpose.

During these two years, the what and how have changed a little, but the purpose has always remained the same.

5. Find your social media voice

[From one of my Instagram posts (check me out @jamessancto!). These are some of the most inspiring people I’ve had the pleasure to work with over the last year (top left: John Wojcik, top right: Karina Asankulova, bottom left: Moreen Gorial, bottom right: Chase Leslie). They are the team that have led our global growth.]

I was one of those people who avoided social media. I found it kind of strange that people would post personal stuff; whether that be envy-provoking holiday snaps or their latest relationship status. I was also concerned about the broader negative impact social media seemed to be having on society.

But to say you don’t like social media is like saying you don’t like letters. Sure — you might not like both. My point is that it is probably not the medium that you dislike, rather the way that people use it. That was the case with me.

As the CEO of a startup you feel obliged to be active on social media. You think that you can become an ‘influencer’ and suddenly everyone will know about your organisation. This leads so many CEOs to have a really similar type of online presence — selfies with semi-well-known people, photos from high profile events that you had to pay to go to (but make it look like you were an invited guest), and announcements of your startup’s latest initiative launched in an attempt to go viral.

For some people that’s fine. But don’t just follow the crowd: find your voice. Express what you really feel and what you want to say. Don’t feel constrained by the invisible cage of startup CEO expectations.

For example, my Instagram has some We Make Change related content. But if it does, it is often focused on those people who are out there making change happen (rather than pics of me!). There are pics from some cool events I have been to, but I’ll also document the days when I spend most of the time behind a computer screen (like I am now). Because I want to show more of the ‘real’ unfiltered startup journey.

My Instagram Stories may also seem pretty strange to some. I use them as a means to document my random streams of consciousness. It provides a place for me to express ideas that I find interesting, informative and inspiring.

Finding your voice doesn’t mean that you have to be on social media, or that you must be active on it. Your voice might be quiet after all! It is just to say that if your reason for not using social media is because you ‘don’t like it’, you might want to think about how you could use it so that you do.

Who knows; if enough of us do that, then maybe social media will become more friendly, interesting and likeable as a result!

6. Don’t be afraid to fail

[Helping to host the United For 2030 online hackathon with the inspiring Alyssa Chassman (bottom row, second from the right)]

I am constantly astounded by people’s aversion to risk. It’s as though if something isn’t almost full proof, then it isn’t worth trying.

I know it’s so cliché to say ‘Don’t be afraid to fail.’ It’s pretty much written on the door of every startup (that has enough capital to have its own doors to decorate!). But what I mean is: try, learn and decide. Whether it’s something really small like trying a new tool to coordinate your team, or testing an entirely new business model, just think to yourself ‘what is the least I need to do to prove the concept of what I’m trying to do’ and then give it a go.

Admittedly, I have been terrible at this at some points in the past — going six months thinking that we’ve got the business model sorted because we’ve spoken to a few potential customers who all sounded positive. Only to find that when you ask them to sign on the dotted line, they suddenly become far less positive. We could have come to that conclusion in a fraction of the time if we asked the tough questions upfront.

On a more positive note, we tested running a campaign to grow our community globally. We brought together a few people from different countries to act as ambassadors to promote a programme known as United For 2030. In just 4 weeks, we received over 2,000 applicants.

Having seen that element of the initiative succeed, we thought we would do this at a larger scale and be far better prepared. We launched the #MakeChangeNow campaign and have now created a movement of over 17,000 people. These include NGO leaders, entrepreneurs, World Economic Forum Global Shapers, One Young World Peace Ambassadors, musicians, artists, poets and even a Syrian refugee Olympic swimmer!

Not only that. We’ve had over 4,000 people apply to join the 10 National Teams we now have in countries across the world. As we move into the next year, these teams are going to be leading our movement to change the world in a way that has never been seen before. 

It’s only by not being afraid to fail that you maximise your chance of succeeding; which you should never be scared to do!

7. Being all things to all people is the same as being nothing to everyone

[Members of the Executive Team at our team drinks. Unfortunately, they are not still part of the team. But they have all enabled us to get to where we are today.]

As startup founders, we have huge aspirations. Our ambitions may even be so big that we keep them slightly hidden so we don’t scare others into thinking that we’re entirely mad (which we are simply by taking on such a task).

One of the things about having such grand visions is that they can draw us into wanting to be all things to all people. When you are starting out, being all things to all people is the same as being nothing to everyone. A lack of focus can make it so hard to know who is your target customer, what is your value proposition and what services you should offer.

By spreading yourself too thinly, you are unlikely to discover the answers to those questions in the time that your money allows. It is far better to focus on a few key hypotheses you want to test; use a systematic way of evaluating whether they are true, false or somewhere in between; then make a decision about which direction to take.

Again, I have learnt this the hard way — by not being focused enough and wasting months working on all kinds of different proposals for different organisations that have not come off.

That is why we will be focusing our energy on developing our business model. We know that we can help companies make their corporate social responsibility programmes fun, flexible and effective. By making that our focus, we can make We Make Change into a fast growing, financially sustainable and global ChangeMaking organisation over the next year. 

8. Don’t let money hold you back

[The man Ed Kirwan, our Homelessness Community Manager, in Guildhall packing up after our first ever Homelessness Conference]

The constant worry when running a startup is how much runway you have left (or, in simple terms, how long you have until the money runs out). It is an understandable concern, but one that must be managed carefully.

If you worry too much about generating revenue in the short-term it can lead you away from fulfilling your purpose, and neglecting the development of your long-term business model. But if you do not worry about it enough, it can put you in a position where you will so desperately need it that it becomes that constant nagging thought at the back of your mind.

I have experienced both of these financially-induced phenomena. For me, as long as we are fulfilling our purpose as an organisation, we will find a means of making the money we need.

To give you an example, over the last year we have been growing our community of homelessness NGOs. It was started by our amazing Homelessness Community Manager, Ed Kirwan, with the support of recruitment firm Wiser, who have allowed us to use their office space for the community’s bi-monthly meetings. We had no idea how we would be able to make it financially sustainable. We just knew that it could make change by enabling homelessness organisations to collaborate to end homelessness once and for all.

This year we held our first Homelessness Conference, which would be the largest free gathering of homelessness organisations in the UK. We agreed to cover some of the costs of the event without knowing how we would be able to. After approaching dozens of companies, the great people at Accenture — whose staff had previously attended our meetings — agreed to sponsor the event.

Following the success of the Conference, where we had charity leaders, politicians and grassroots organisations from across the sector, we are now in talks with a number of organisations who want to sponsor the entire community.

Fulfil your purpose and the money will follow (that is as long as people care enough about your purpose and you go in search of the money while you fulfil it!).

9. Have courage in your convictions and the courage to listen

[The amazing team who organised We Hack London, our first ever hackathon!]

There have been so many people who have doubted what we are doing along the way. Whether it be the entire premise of what we’re doing or specific elements of our strategy. I’ve even had people who I haven’t seen in a while ask if I’m still ‘doing that We Make Change thing’!

When we started, it was with the premise that everyone has a cause they care about, a skill they can use and some time they can give. Yet it can be so hard for people to find an opportunity that supports their causes, uses their skills and fits with their schedule. We believed that if we could provide a platform that enables anyone, anywhere to use their skills to support the causes they care about, we really could give people the power to address the biggest challenges the world faces today.

There have been so many people who have believed — our Advisory Board, the dozens of people who have volunteered in our team, and the thousands of people who have signed up as ChangeMakers.

Despite the progress we have made, there are still many doubters. That has meant that we are still yet to receive any external funding. They say ‘what is your business model? — we’re still figuring it out. ‘What is your five year plan?’ — we had one, but it became irrelevant after three months. ‘What specific cause do you support?’ — it’s whatever our community wants to support.

As I said after the first year; as a startup, you are selling belief. There are some who believe in you and the concept. The proof is in your passion and your purpose. For others, they need you to prove what you want to do at a scale that is impossible for you to get to without them believing in you enough to take the risk.

I still believe that as long as we are making change, the funding will follow soon enough. That is why, as long as there are thousands of people who are showing that they believe merely by joining the movement, I will never lose faith in our original conviction.

Having said that, when it comes to developing and delivery your strategy, you should always be open to advice. I once heard it said that sometimes the best person is the one who says what you don’t want to hear. That can be so true.

Listen harder to the advice that you don’t want to hear. You probably already know that it’s right, but just don’t want to face up to it.

10. Enjoy the journey!

[Meeting members of We Make Change Team Nigeria in Abuja at the Global Youth Employment Forum. One of the most inspiring moments I’ve had so far.]

I always leave my most important lesson for last. This is partly to reward those who have read this far, but also because it is often a culmination of all of the other lessons, as well as being the hardest to learn.

This may seem like something that is so much easier said than done. Yet, it is the attitude towards our circumstance rather than the circumstance itself that determines our own state of mind. Whenever I get another funding bid rejection email, a potential customer who rejects a proposal, or don’t get a response to another message, after a split-second feeling of disappointment, I get this surge of motivation.

It’s a kind of ‘I’m going to show them’ mentality. Not in a vengeful way, because the rejection is likely due to something we have done. It’s more from the sense in which Nelson Mandela said, ‘I never lose. I either win or learn.’

The greatest progress we have made as an organisation, and I have personally, has often been following disappointment. Our failed crowdfunding campaign at the start of this whole journey meant we developed a slimmed-down, but much more innovative initial platform. All the funding rejections have forced us to explore business model options much earlier than we would have done otherwise. All the stresses and strains led me to grow a beard, find my voice on social media and write this piece (which I think will be worthwhile, even if it just helps one person on their own journey).

It’s important to always remember that the harder the journey, the more fulfilling the victories come to be.

Founding a startup is not a job, it is a privilege. It is an incredible opportunity to be able to connect with and empower so many inspiring people to make the change they want to see. This does not end here. It is a life’s work worth pursuing. So, for as long as I’m fortunate enough to be around, I will be continuing the struggle to give you the power to change the world.

That’s it. There are many more lessons I could include, but these are my top ten.

To all those thinking of founding a startup — let your purpose be your guide. 

To those who have already taken the lead — only founders know what it is like, so don’t worry if your friends, family, or any other non-founders, don’t get it. There are others going through exactly the same thing!

To everyone — you have the power to change the world. That’s why We Make Change exists.

I hope this helps you through the struggle to make the change you want to see. 

Until next year,

James

We Make Change

If you want to change the world, we’re here to help:

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