Improv for Startups
At Stanford, I took an improv class. It was hands down the most important skill I learned in school.
Building a company is one big improv game. There are no scripts to follow, you get thrown all kinds of curve balls, and you quickly learn to roll with the punches and laugh at what happens — a lot. 😅 The same principles apply.
If you can master the skills of improv, you’ll be ahead of the curve in startups.
Show Up
The most important rule of improv is to show up. When you’re on stage, you physically can’t be anywhere else. So show up and commit fully. If you really want to build a company — you must show up. Give it 100% of your time. Don’t multitask with your life. If you decide to be there, be there & give it all you got.
Be Present
At the core of improv is learning to be extremely present. You can’t anticipate what will happen next — you must wait for it, and then respond. You can’t rewrite the past and you can’t control the future — you learn quickly that the only thing in your control is what you do NOW. And if you want to continue the storyline in a way that makes sense — you must be fully zoned in on the present moment. It’s the same for company building, especially in the beginning. Things change so fast (the market, competition, customer feedback, the team) that our job becomes to fully zone in on the reality of today. If we live in the past — we will never get anything done, and if we live in the future, we won’t be alive to see it. We must get exceptional at being present focused.
Let go of Perfectionism
If you come to improv wanting to be the star, wanting to always say the perfect punch line — you will fail. The point of improv is to keep the story going — and if you’re constantly in search of the perfect line, putting pressure on yourself to be funny, you’ll stutter on stage and kill the story. Similarly — if we hold on to perfectionism, we will putter out and fail because we will never get anything done. Momentum is power, and perfectionism kills all momentum. Release the imperfect V1 of the product, get feedback, and keep moving forward.
Trust your Team
No one watches solo improv — improv is a team sport. You are creating with your team in real time on stage in front of an audience. The chemistry between the improv actors on stage can make or break the show. To be a good teammate on stage, you must trust your teammates. You can’t control them, yet you must work together. Accept what they say and do wholeheartedly, and build on top of that. It’s about saying “Yes, and.” Every line a teammate delivers is a gift — build upon it.
Enjoy the Ride
Improv is funny. It’s unpredictable, relatable, and highlights our humanness. You learn to not take yourself too seriously. As an improv actor, you end up laughing on stage — and you learn that it’s ok to laugh on stage, even while you’re building, creating, performing. Laughing at the situation and at yourself is part of the show. Having a sense of humor is one of the most impactful skills to develop — and it compounds. When you start laughing at the silly curve balls that happen in life instead of dreading them or stressing about them — you train your brain to respond with laughter rather than stress. What you focus on expands. Focus on enjoying the ride.
P.S. Stop reading this and go take an improv class! 😂