In the brutal world of startups, conviction is your greatest weapon. It fuels momentum, sharpens decisions, and separates thriving startups from those that fade away.
Conviction isn’t blind faith or passion. It’s clarity of purpose and commitment to a path, even when challenges arise. Without it, you risk losing focus and becoming a "technology-backed services company" or, worse, facing a slow startup death.
In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein explore why conviction is vital for startup survival and how founders can build, sustain, and spread it within their teams.
In this episode, you'll hear about:
- Discover why conviction is more than just passion—and how they differ.
- Learn the 7 essential elements of conviction, from vision and constraints to intuition and leadership.
- Understand why startups must move fast and how conviction fuels speed and momentum.
- Find out how failing fast with conviction is better than drifting in "zombie mode."
- Explore how faith in your team and your ability to execute is crucial to maintaining conviction.
- Hear how smart constraints sharpen your focus and make your startup a "sharp knife" that can cut through the noise.
- Learn why conviction helps you ignore distractions, push against short-sighted advice, and stay true to your original vision.
Join Chris and Yaniv as they explore the nuances of conviction and provide actionable advice to help you build and maintain conviction in your startup.
00:00 Intro
01:52 On Today's Show
02:26 Defining Conviction in Startups
03:55 The Importance of Conviction
07:10 Conviction vs. Passion
15:09 Vision and Constraints
22:54 Developing Conviction Without Data
29:50 Faith and Execution
33:59 Courage and Leadership
39:53 Final Thoughts
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Key links
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Learn more about Chris and Yaniv
Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/
Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/
Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/
Editor: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur
Content Strategist: Carolina Franco https://www.linkedin.com/in/francocarolina/
Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/
#startup #entrepreneur #founders #leadership #conviction
