My startup training (and my belief system based on it) said that the key to building successful startups includes, ensuring

1. Market & Timing
2. Team
3. Idea
4. Business Model
5. Funding

You typically start out with Market Research, and if you (as a team) are able to solve useful and hard problems then you are off to a great start.

It turns out I was only partially right. Turns out that Empathy may be the most important component, and it is also possible practice Empathy at scale. Below are some examples on how to practice Empathy at scale.

Marketing & Leadership – Leading with questions

Companies often start out by identifying Customer needs and conducting Market Research. Unfortunately for some (or many) the practice of asking questions stops there (or is practiced less often). Leaders can excel by continuing to ask their teams and customers questions to better understand their teams and market. Furthermore, tools such as online surveys (e.g. Survey Monkey) and polls (e.g. LinkedIn Polls) to continuously develop a better understanding of your market, customers and teams.

Product Design & Development – Design Thinking

Design Thinking as a way of building prototypes, and designing / developing products is rooted in Empathy. It starts out by understanding Desirability. Empathy is key to making an emotional connection with the customer and the whole team. It eventually leads to emotional buy in and loyalty.

Sales – How to sell a pen

All sales professionals and many in leadership roles have come across the how to sell a pen example. The successful sales process starts out by asking questions and empathizing with customer and then makes an emotional connection. As a startup co-founder, leader and employee you are always selling. The key is realizing that asking is questions and empathizing is critical to success.

In summary, I think startups need to practice empathy for success. It surprisingly is not just a critical skill / behaviour but also a scalable one.

I am open to suggestions, and would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts.