Startup resource management

As a startup founder, I observed that there are really 4 core resources that I work with every single day –

1. People
2. Time
3. Money
4. Knowledge

Each one has different level of importance and value at different stage of the company. All these resources are associated with each other in some way. Sometimes one is dependent on the other, and sometimes they’re exclusive to each other. Here are few examples how they’re associated with each other –

• You may spend more money to save time, or you spend more time to save money.
• You spend more money to get more people, or you have less people since you can’t spend money.
• You get more people to do things in less time, or you take more time to do things due to shortage of people.
• You can do more things in less time if you’re knowledgeable about it, or you need more time to do things as you don’t have prior knowledge about it.
• You need to spend time to acquire knowledge, or you don’t acquire knowledge since you don’t have time.

You got the idea.

The point is — you’re constantly making decisions between these 4 resources and trying to figure out which one is more important than the other at that given instance. Sometimes you take rational decisions, and sometimes you take it based on your gut. But as a founder, you need to master the art of prioritizing these resources and understanding the importance of each resource at the different stage of your company — and that’s what they call — “execution”.

Originally published at aditya.kothadiya.com on July 2, 2012.