If You Know Fishing, You Know Start-Ups.

If You Know Fishing, You Know Start-Ups.

Sitting around a campfire after a long day of fishing in the fall of 2015… it hit us. We were reflecting on the fishing trip and boasting about our catches – only to realize most details of the trip other than the few big’ens had already been forgotten. Returning home to Pittsburgh, we started looking for a solution, which was clearly being addressed for other activity-based sports, but it appeared very fragmented / non-existent for the sport we cared about; fishing. Within weeks, we were in full boot-strapping mode and building towards our vision for ANGLR.

Today, looking back on the last 28 months of our growing fishing company, it’s easy to compare lessons learned to our team’s passion for fishing. Here are the 6 that we thought any entrepreneur would enjoy.

• Don’t just get comfortable with constant change. Expect it.
  You’ve checked the conditions, read the fishing reports, and show up to the water with a plan. Then, one hour into your day everything changes. Clouds have rolled in, barometer’s falling out, wind is howling, and the water’s unexpectedly murky. Even worse, nothing is biting, doubt is setting in, and motivation is waning. Fishing experts incessantly look for clues so that they can adapt and make adjustments to their approach. A baitfish or bug-hatch that local fish may be eating. A seasonal-change that causes unique & repetitive behaviors like spawning bass in the spring time. One small change can be the difference between a day resulting in no fish and having caught 50+. Expect conflict, challenge the status quo, seek clues, and build a culture that expects to be making the small adjustments.

  No plan should be exactly the same after the first day of battle.

• It’s not about the bait you want to throw. It’s about what they want to eat.
  There’s over 6 million different baits and thousands of variations to fishing each them. As entrepreneurs, we’ve all heard the importance of knowing our audience. As fishermen, the more intimately you understand your target, the better your chances of success catching them. You have to look far beyond the generalities of species, population, location, or age and intimately understand their common interests, behaviors, habits, and perspectives. We call this a needs analysis.

  Now that you understand your target, presentation is everything. Determining that your target desires a particular super-shiny, high dollar bait isn’t going to cut it. It has to be presented in the water exactly the same way as how they’d expect to eat it. You wouldn’t fish a rage crawl (imitating a crawfish) really fast through the water – Your target expects crawfish to crawl slowly along the bottom. We’re learning that investing the time to deeply consider our positioning through our target’s needs, characteristics, and preferences is far more effective than forcing our solution with bold product-serving descriptions from the perspective of the business.

  Like humans, fish have needs, and the more intimately you understand them in their situations, the better your odds for success.

• Many efforts along the way will fail. These are the greatest lessons.
  When professionals fish tournaments with hundreds of thousands in cash prizes on the line, they all start with at least 20 different rigs or approaches. After fishing various setups that aren’t producing, they quickly narrow their focus down to only a few approaches that attract a bite. Failure isn’t an option for these fishermen in the same way as many of us entrepreneurs; it’s our livelihood. But the situational awareness and experience gained through failing is what ultimately positions you to effectively use the past to predict the future.

  Even the most respected fishermen in the world still get skunked. But they just keep making those casts until the puzzle pieces fall in place, and… WHAM, FISH ON!

• Networking should be a part of your team’s DNA.
  One of the college fishing teams that we work with is always winning their tournaments. Their boosters hire local experts who’ve fished the competition lakes for decades to inform the team on each fishery. With this backing, this team can approach completely new waters with confidence and years of expertise behind them.

  It’s easy as entrepreneurs to make networking a seasonal activity when fundraising or growing a team. There are new relationships out there that can save you years of hyper-focused, “heads-down” executional effort. And it’s not just the CEO who should be discovering key relationships. Build time for networking as a part of your culture so that the entire team feels responsible for identifying and engaging experts, advisors, partners, or investors who believe what you believe and can help you solve big problems – even when they’re not exactly what you think the business needs right at this exact moment.

  Develop a hunger for new and diverse perspectives on your venture. You’ll only actually implement on a few, but you’ll learn something meaningful from every single one.

• Speed is your friend.
  Have you ever compared a professional fisherman’s approach to the average joe-bob at the pond down the street? Bass fishermen are ripping around lakes at 75mph to change locations. Fly fishermen are meticulous about every motion, gesture, and detail while moving from pool to pool. No matter the approach, you could set a metronome to the professional’s cadence – it’s relentless! These anglers know that the more water they can cover with effective presentation time (time spent with a bait in the water), the better their odds for success. For us, high-speed came naturally with our excitement growing a business based on our own personal needs as passionate fishermen. For us, a general expectation for speed creates a healthy ripple effect to constant prioritizing, planning, measuring, and adjusting versus losing precious time wading in pools where there are no fish.

  Exhaust your hypotheses quickly so that you find yourself constantly planning new ones.

• Get clear on what matters by getting rid of everything that doesn’t.
  Some of your decisions will send you down completely wrong paths. It’s a natural ingredient to every adventure in life. Far too often in fishing, our passion can breed unnecessary endeavors as revealed along questionable paths in business. This could be a person on your team causing unhealthy complication that you’ve been rationalizing for far too long. It could be a product or feature that you really want but isn’t core to solving the biggest need for your customer. As founders, we’ve found it far worth the effort of rooting out the paths of continuous friction early and cutting the line rather than trudging down further, month after month, hoping it may finally make the turn towards a desired result.

  Even in something as simple as fishing, we often times insist on over-complicating things. Expose your unnecessary points of friction and cut the line.

About ANGLR

ANGLR is a team of technologists, designers, and engineers all motivated by a true passion for fishing and the outdoors. We’re dedicated to the community, obsessed with powerful performance data, and inspired by story-telling.