Learning is a consistent part of every entrepreneur’s journey. To let rejection be redirection is a widely underrated and essential skill in any line of work—especially valuable for those who dare to challenge longstanding industry norms with innovative and problem-solving technology. In his latest Ask A Founder session with Altitude Accelerator, digital transformation expert and PathtoCareer founder Manny Narayanan shared with us the common mistakes entrepreneurs make in building businesses from the ground up.
With over two decades of strategy and business transformation experience within financial institutions, Narayanan has successfully executed complex cross-functional change projects and driven operational efficiency. The success he created on his own career path led him to help students build theirs, and in 2021, he founded PathtoCareer—an AI-powered digital guidance platform for students. With psychologically assisted assessments and resources, PathtoCareer helps students, parents, and advisors co-create brighter futures for the next generation of changemakers. In this inspiring session, Narayanan reflects on his entrepreneurial journey so far and dives deeper into the key learnings he has gathered over the years.
Blindspot #1: Gaps in market research
When it comes to laying the foundations of any business, Narayanan emphasizes the importance of starting with a fact-based understanding of what your customer’s needs are and the options they have at their disposal to address these needs. He considers the presence of competition healthy, as long as a founder acknowledges that their product needs to go beyond the solutions already prevailing in the market.
Highlighting the role of primary research in helping companies delve deeper into their target audience’s psyche, Narayanan warns against using generic numbers to estimate market potential. He states, “When you’re trying to understand the market, it’s important not to multiply with big numbers. Taking PathtoCareer’s example—the student population in Canada is close to 4 million and roughly 20 million in the US. I can’t just take that number and then expect to get, say 5% of that population into my platform. It’s important to be precise in understanding what kind of numbers can translate, conduct through market research of your own and use it to educate you.”
Blindspot #2: Ignorance towards your finances
Getting the insight you need into your company’s finances begins with asking the right questions. A founder must be able to understand the costs associated with their business model and distinguish one-off expenses from recurring costs. Narayanan also expresses the importance of effective cash flow management as one of the key ingredients for a business’ resilient financial planning. Understanding how to build adequate funding reserves is imperative for a startup, especially in turbulent market conditions.
He urges businesses to avoid premature business expansion. Recounting his own experiences in business transformation, Narayanan states, “I was a consultant for a long time, and I know how to get things done in the cheapest way possible, sometimes at no cost. There are so many alternative resources for you to tap into once you understand your finances.”
Blindspot #3: Distractions abound
When operating in an attention economy, the strength of your focus can truly be an asset. In advising founders against what he calls the ‘shiny object syndrome,’ Narayanan talks about the many distractions that can shift focus away from working towards building better products and systems. He shares, “What really matters is your customers. Speak with them and they will educate you on what they’re looking for. Everything else will follow. Do not run behind shiny objects—social media coverage, interviews, events—before you have established what your mission is, what you want to achieve and how you want to move towards it.”
Narayanan recommends spending that time pitching and sharing ideas. Focusing on getting feedback and refining the product allows businesses to accelerate their journey into the market and learn from the insights that it generates. Commitment to the venture’s primary mission can be a defining factor in the success of your business.
Blindspot #4: Overlooking legal compliance and protection
While creating unique solutions involves hunting for gaps in demand and supply, Narayanan encourages a similar exploration when it comes to a company’s Intellectual Property (IP) strategy. The market is already saturated with patents, and every startup must ensure legal protection from infringement. After identifying a niche feature the product can safely offer without such risk, entrepreneurs also must seek to establish a legal cover of their own to protect their unique selling proposition (USP).
When asked about his own IP strategy, Narayanan shed some light on his experience with government-funded programs such as IP Ontario and Elevate IP, designed to help Canadian startups understand, strategically manage and leverage their IP. He reflects, “It has been phenomenal to not only understand the patents we need but also what our strategies should be around licensing, trademark, and privacy. One thing I learned when we were about to launch was that to have your platform advertised and marketed in Quebec, you need to have French as a language. While our platform still works in French, I was not confident that we are entirely French-ready. So we decided not to advertise there at all. So get help to look deeper into what you’re building and how to best protect it. Altitude Accelerator also provides this support as a service through one of its partners, Smart & Biggar.”
Blindspot #5: Ineffective team building
Culture can, quite often, be a buzzword in startup environments. As a founder, one wants each hire to be just as passionate about the idea as they are, driven by the same values as them. However, as empowering as such similarities can be, Narayanan cautions founders against building teams that mirror each other and instead encourages a talent-curating strategy that identifies complementary skills that lead to better business outcomes. Founders must also be cognizant of their company’s hiring needs, given the current state of their finances and the potential expertise they might require moving forward. He reinforces this idea when asked during the session about hiring domestic or international talent. Quoting success in both cases, he states, “It all depends on who you’re working with. You want to build an ecosystem that grows as you grow. You want this person to be part of your organization today and tomorrow. So whoever you are bringing in, make sure there is a long-term plan with them.”
Blindspot #6: Selective listening
No successful businesses were built in echo chambers. It can be easy to ignore customer input when one is simply too busy for another opinion, but feedback can act as a valuable guidepost. Narayanan shares how his own platform evolved after receiving customer requests about making their courses more self-paced to fit into the routines of users from all walks and stages of life. He also cites the use of digital feedback channels on Slack and Discord as convenient, easy-to-use mechanisms for gathering such insights.
Blindspot #7: Weak marketing execution
A great marketing strategy means nothing without strong execution. Narayanan recommends ensuring all marketing channels complement each other, creating a seamless customer experience across platforms. He finds most businesses fail to clearly define their target user persona and consequently center it within their marketing strategy. Whether it’s social media, email, or content marketing, ensure your marketing is aligned with your brand’s message and that each channel reinforces the others. Businesses must learn to balance traditional marketing avenues with digital ones instead of relying heavily on either.
Blindspot #8: Overprioritizing VC funding
Not every startup needs venture capital (VC) funding right out of the gate. Narayanan believes considering VC a prerequisite can be detrimental to a business’ learning phase. Premature fundraising can set unrealistic expectations and distract from actually building a sustainable product. He reiterates the importance of proceeding to market early for young startups, to learn the lessons it has in store for their business.
Founders must take the time to validate their concept and establish themselves in the market before seeking external funding. Narayanan also notes how many thriving businesses never rely on VC at all, stating, “You need to really understand your company, what scaling requires and where you could get funds. There is a lot of government support available today, grants to apply for and partnerships with institutions that can get money for you to move forward.”
Blindspot #9: Missing out on life outside of work
Starting a business can be overwhelming, but it’s vital to set boundaries to avoid burnout. Maintaining a healthy life-work balance—Narayanan insists that the life in ‘work-life balance’ must come first—can seem impossible when one is in the arena, but setting a routine and making time for personal life can strengthen focus during the time carved out for work too. Effective delegation and setting clear boundaries are difficult but ultimately are rewarding recipes for managing the demands entrepreneurship makes of a founder.
Blindspot #10: Not seeking advice
Embarking on this adventure to build something of one’s own can be one of the most challenging yet fulfilling things a person ever does. But it doesn’t have to be the loneliest. A strong mentor who has already been through the highs and lows of building a business can help one benefit from a seasoned perspective. For Narayanan, the concept of mentorship is also inherently reciprocal. He states, “It works both ways. Being a mentor teaches you just as much as being a mentee.”
To find out more about the learnings Manny Narayanan has gathered along the way, watch his full Ask A Founder session .
