My passion for playing soccer was sparked at an early age; I couldn’t watch, practice, play, or study it enough.
I practiced often and learned tactics by watching games on TV, while also getting pointers from local coaches – I was always searching for ways to constantly improve. The years of grueling dedication paid off paid when I received an NCAA Division-1 scholarship.
While many folks see the physical side of sports, those involved in countless hours of training on fields, tracks, and in gyms, also recognize how athletics provide a mental edge in their professional careers.
What sports can teach entrepreneurs: Discipline, determination, diversity
Sports teach discipline. In my case, athletics also taught me a lot about culture, as soccer wasn’t embraced in American when I was young.
Athletics provided an opportunity to play alongside some amazing friends who either came from or descended from different parts of the world, which prepared me for today’s workforce. The strongest companies recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion, and we operate in a global economy.
I’d be remiss not to mention that sports taught me to push forward, no matter how many doors would be closed in my face.
That’s social Darwinism at it best, and ultimately what sports can teach entrepreneurs: How to survive the real world.
Sports, entrepreneurs, and corporate accelerators
Whether in business or on a playing field, discovering the best route to success can be challenging, so it makes sense that you’d bond with those who can teach you what you need to learn – making strategic connections is crucial to every entrepreneur.
For startups, the more effective route for go-to-market progress is very much driven by the desire to succeed and the opportunity to use time more wisely. And for many startups, it’s also the chance to explore the benefits of participating in a corporate accelerator program – virtually or in-person, when possible.
A good corporate accelerator includes mentorship, and allows you to further your knowledge when it comes to industry best practices. It also offers an opportunity to get closer to potential customers and/or leverage an impartial sounding board that can help you move closer to an enterprise path faster than if you set out to do so alone.
Moreover, corporate accelerators also can help startups:
- Develop stronger sales pitches
- Define success stories
- Exchange ideas from other leading startups
There’s also a halo effect that comes from working with a good accelerator with a strong reputation.
Playing in the zone: Life lessons from sports
Working with an accelerator can also help entrepreneurs be in the zone of execution – this zone, similar to that of athlete when reaching peak performance – is not always easy to achieve. Only a few times in my playing days did I feel so in the zone that it felt as if everything around me slowed down.
That’s the feeling startups should try to get to achieve.
Working with corporate accelerators can help startups transform time, making each business decision more natural and effortless. Playing in the zone enables entrepreneurs to have sharpened awareness, and better concentration and control of what startups do well, like focusing on innovation.
Speaking of control, soccer legend and successful entrepreneur David Beckham once said, “I have always believed that if you want to achieve anything special in life you have to work, work, and then work some more.”
Driving positive impact and value is a common theme for start-ups, as Garry Cooper, CEO of Rheaply, and a current member of the SAP Foundry New York corporate accelerator program, notes: “Early stage but fast-growing startups like Rheaply lean on established business leaders like SAP for deep industry and customer insights, coaching, and value-additive partnerships.
It’s so nice and refreshing to have a global technology leader aid the future growth of the marketplace by investing their time, talent, and network in the growth of startups. More corporations should adopt the SAP.iO model, especially given this unprecedented time and need for innovation in the digital workplace.”
That quote can be used to sum up what corporate accelerators do – they help startups achieve special things while startups focus on being impactful and value-added to prospective partners and customers.
Reaching peak performance
I learned a lot over the past two decades working in various roles in strategy, marketing, and trading. I wish I’d known in those early years of my career what I know now – perhaps I would have handled things differently when it came to certain business decision-making situations.
Experience does matter. Granted, there are startups today with very seasoned teams who perform quite well. But even they can benefit from working with accelerators who can help them more strategically advance and avoid certain stumbling blocks along the way.
Athletes put countless hours in to training for much of the year so they can perform at their very best.
Likewise, startups may need help to really reach the masses and be impactful.
And that’s ok. As professionals, being open-minded to feedback and guidance is essential. This can be the difference from landing on the podium at the Olympics, signing that lucrative customer deal, or raising capital through a funding round – these are the things that make teaming with a corporate accelerator time very well spent.
