About two years ago, my wife and I decided to exchange our stable home in Switzerland for a small sailing boat in order to sail around the world. As you can imagine, this was not an easy decision to make. Our children said goodbye to their friends, to 95 percent of their toys, to their cozy bedroom and to their familiar playground. My wife and I locked the doors to our home for the last time, hopped into the rental mini-van that contained all of our belongings, fetched the kids from daycare, and then drove to our boat — the “Maya” located in the south of France — to begin our once-in-a-lifetime journey.
Since the day we set sail, I have started a new company, which has had a very successful launch recently. To be precise, this is my second company. I am working and communicating with my team members — situated in different parts of the world including Switzerland, Finland, Mauritius and Portugal — while sailing, on anchor or when in a marina. Just recently, we crossed the Panama Canal into Costa Rica on the Pacific side. Then we set sail to Galapagos, and from there, we’ll head to the island paradise in the south Pacific.
Not many entrepreneurs can say that they launched a company while on the open sea. Perhaps I’m the only one, or maybe one of the first? Through this whole process of sailing with my family and starting a business at the same time, it occurred to me that there are indeed lessons from sailing that also apply to startups. In this article, I’ll address five sailing essentials and their respective counterparts in the startup world.
1. Sturdy boat.
This part might seem the most obvious, but having a sturdy boat in sailing is like having a strong team. When building a company, how does one ensure that the team they put in place is going to be strong enough to endure the challenges, as well as enjoy and appreciate the good times? Ideally, I’d like to meet candidates in person, but I put faith in screening candidates multiple times via video conferencing until I am sure of the hiring decision. I made three hires while I was on anchor. (I’ll highlight my sailing path in the conclusion.)
I believe in recruiting worldwide. This allows us to meet the best people wherever they feel home. It also allows for 24/7 customer support with a tiny team. Therefore, I am a big believer of distributed teams.
2. Compass and stars.
As most of our charts are on the iPhone — and we’ve lost that in the water already twice. I no longer carry the phone on deck for navigation. This means that we went back to traditional navigation — studying where to go, writing down directions and distances and using the compass for navigation. Only rarely do we check with the electronic chart on the iPhone, which has to stay inside the cabin while on the water. The compass and even the stars have thus been an important part for navigation for us. They have helped sailors throughout history steer in the direction they want to go, and help them stay on course. My compass is super helpful and always a valuable and trustworthy guide.
In the business world, choosing the right problem to solve is equivalent to having a trustworthy compass. As such, I can’t stress enough the importance of picking a problem worth solving when building a business from the ground…