Having a mission-driven mindset is paramount for startups to drown out unnecessary distractions in order to build something disruptive yet sustainable in this space.

A clear mission provides not only direction but is an anchor in the storm.

Start with a strong, clear mission  

A well-defined mission needs to address a real problem that resonates not only with you but with a broader audience. The more universally relevant the problem is, the more it will resonate with diverse groups of people – from your immediate customers, investors, and beyond. Defining this early on is crucial, as it becomes the driving force behind the startup, providing a framework for all future decisions.

For example, with Olas, our mission emerged from two interconnected issues: the lack of trust in the media, and the economic instability of journalism. I recognised early on how decentralised technologies could provide innovative solutions to these long-standing challenges, not only benefiting journalists but also ensuring that the public could access trustworthy, reliable information. Our mission was designed to create value for a wide range of stakeholders – from journalists and researchers to media consumers and society as a whole.

When you have a strong mission, it becomes your North Star. It helps you stay the course, especially when forces beyond your control such as market volatility or shifting trends try to pull you in different directions. It provides focus and clarity for you, your team, your stakeholders as well as your target audience, while also ensuring that every decision is aligned with your long-term vision, and not swayed by the short-lived external distractions.

Be flexible in execution

Flexibility lets you adapt to the constantly changing environment of technologies, business models, and market conditions while remaining true to your purpose. It requires knowing when to pivot and when to hold your ground and not shift with every new trend that doesn't align with your long-term goals. At the same time, flexibility doesn’t mean constantly changing direction – you need to regularly assess your current approach to conclude whether it aligns with your mission, and decide the necessary adjustments. It is vital that such reflections are grounded in your original purpose in order to make sure that any changes in strategy still support your core vision.

Another crucial ingredient here is patience. Building successful mission-driven startups doesn't come right away. While agility is important, rushing into the market only creates mistakes and disconnections from your mission. It's infinitely better to take the time to build something stable than to prematurely launch on shaky ground. While it's easy to get caught up in hype, building a loyal network of users, partners, or investors who really believe in your mission takes time, but it is essential for success in the long run.

In a sector that moves as fast as Web3, success requires flexibility in execution while remaining consistent with your mission. Technologies and trends evolve, but if your mission is well thought out, you can be fluid in how you achieve it without losing focus.

Develop a lean, resilient team

Your team is considered one of the biggest assets to your startup – you are going to want to hire a team who are as passionate about the cause as you are. It's not about hiring skilled people; it's about onboarding people who actually will believe in your vision and see to it that they travel the journey of highs and lows with you.

Building a lean and resilient team is particularly important in sectors that are maturing at a fast and rapid pace, such as Web3, where adaptability means everything. I’ve seen startups in the space try to scale too quickly, then lose their efficiency and move away from their core mission. Keeping the team focused on the mission, without premature scaling, improves communication, speeds up decision-making, and strengthens the connection to the company's vision.

Creating space for collaboration is equally vital. Innovation thrives on diverse perspectives and various problem-solving strategies, and flat hierarchies play a crucial role in fostering this. At Olas, we’ve established a flat structure that values each contribution based on merit. This collaborative atmosphere empowers us to be more innovative and adaptable in Web3, where circumstances can shift in the blink of an eye.

Early Stakeholder Involvement

One of the most important steps in building a mission-driven startup is engaging with key stakeholders up front. These can be customers, users, investors, and partners, depending on what your business requires. These stakeholders provide you with insightful knowledge that helps you in refining your product or service so you may be addressing the right problems.

At Olas, where we’re still in the early stages of our startup, we’re regularly approaching our key stakeholders – journalists – not just to get them on board with our idea, but to understand the problems they’re facing and what they need. As consumers of news, we’re all familiar with these persistent issues, but hearing firsthand from the journalists themselves gave us a deeper understanding of the solutions they needed. Their feedback is instrumental in putting together a platform that was not only aligned with our mission but relevant and useful to those we wished to support.

Criticism is an integral part of this journey.

Stakeholders, critics included, will offer invaluable perspectives that may provoke thought and challenge your assumptions. It is vital to heed these critiques, as they frequently uncover blind spots and highlight areas ripe for enhancement. Nonetheless, while one must weigh criticism thoughtfully, it is equally important not to allow it to engulf you or divert you from your path. Not every opinion will harmonise with your mission, and that is perfectly acceptable. It’s important to discern which feedback is valuable while remaining focused on the core purpose of your startup.

Early engagement builds trust. Being transparent about your successes and challenges and showing stakeholders how you’re addressing them fosters stronger relationships. Transparency creates a sense of ownership and involvement, turning stakeholders into invested partners in your mission.

Just as markets and technologies evolve, so do the needs of your stakeholders. Continuous feedback loops are key to maintaining relevance of your product or service to the mission of the organisation. By keeping an open channel of communication, you can effectively respond to these emerging needs while staying true to your core purpose.

Conclusion

Building a mission-driven startup in the Web3 and blockchain space comes with its own set of challenges, but the possibilities are endless. Having a clear mission at the outset, flexibility in execution, assembling a lean team, early stakeholder engagement, and maintaining a long-term vision are instrumental tactics for bridging the volatility into the space and reinforcing consistency to core purpose. Success isn’t just about speed – it’s about staying the course. Ultimately, it is the mission that will anchor you amid the inevitable highs and lows of life.

For more startup news, check out the other articles on the website, and subscribe to the magazine for free. Listen to The Cereal Entrepreneur podcast for more interviews with entrepreneurs and big-hitters in the startup ecosystem.