Earlier this month, we had our annual company offsite. Being a remote company with team members scattered across the globe we don’t get to meet as often as we’d like. The offsite provides a way for us to catch up and meet each other in person. This was the third year we were doing it, and we added a new activity that I personally liked a lot: Lightning Talks!

As part of this, people could sign up for a 5-minute talk on absolutely anything. We ended up with a delightful array of talks, from a session on different ways to make coffee to a session about why Fuenlabrada is the best city in the world (given by a proud Fuenlabrada resident).

In the marketing team, my manager and I are huge fans of the show Ted Lasso. We wanted to share our love for the show with everyone and convince them to watch it, so we decided to do a talk on: 3 Lessons From Ted Lasso You Can Apply to Startups. This blog is the written form of that talk!

#1 Be Curious, Not Judgmental

This is easily one of my favorite scenes in the show. Rebecca’s ex-husband, Rupert, challenges Ted to a game of darts, assuming he knows nothing about it. Toward the end of the game, Ted needs an exceptionally high score to win, which seems impossible. But then, he makes perfect throws and reveals that he played darts every Sunday for six years as a child with his dad in a sports bar.

Ted proceeds to reflect on how people have judged and made assumptions about him throughout his life. He shares that it used to bother him a lot when people underestimated him, as Rupert did by assuming that, because Ted wasn’t from around there, he wouldn’t know how to play darts as well as Rupert. However, Ted then recalls that he read somewhere a quote that changed his perspective: “Be curious, not judgmental.”

The quote made him realize that people’s judgments and preconceived notions had nothing to do with who he was. It was their flaw, their judgmental nature. If they were curious, they would have asked him questions instead of making assumptions. Questions like whether he had played darts before challenging him to a game :)

I think this idea applies to more than just people. We have so many preconceived notions about things that we often blind ourselves and limit our options because of these notions. For a startup, it’s critical to be open to possibilities because you never know what might just work. That’s why it’s important to be curious and open to new things, try them out, and then make a decision based on learning from the outcome rather than just cutting down on the opportunities because of any assumptions you might have!

#2 The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off

I think in any startup’s journey, at some point you have to face hard truths. This could be an initiative you were very passionate about not working, not seeing adoption on a feature you bet a lot on, or any of the numerous setbacks that are part of the startup journey. This is what happens in Ted Lasso as well, when we learn that our always happy protagonist has been hiding away from things in his own past and avoiding confronting them. It’s only when those problems start manifesting in the form of him collapsing and having panic attacks that he finally decides (still very reluctantly initially) to seek help from a therapist.

Even when taking those sessions, he hesitates to face the facts in his childhood which have hurt him and left unprocessed emotions. To encourage him to face these issues, this quote is what his therapist tells him. And I feel it applies perfectly to startups. Not acknowledging things which aren’t working and deluding ourselves is something which can be critical to a startup’s health. That’s why it’s super important to face the truth no matter how much it pisses you off at first!

#3 Be A Goldfish

Okay, honestly I’m torn between the darts scene and this one for which one is my favorite scene of the show. This quote comes right after one of the most heartbreaking moments of season 1. The team has put their heart and soul into practicing and it’s the final match which will decide if they get relegated or not. They even score what seems to be their winning goal, but at the last minute they concede a goal and eventually end up losing.

Everyone is in the locker room all sad. Ted enters and asks Sam, “You remember what animal has the shortest memory?” And Sam replies it’s a goldfish. Then Ted asks, “What do you think we should do once we’re done being sad and or angry about this situation?” Sam smiles and says we should be a goldfish.

Cultivating this mentality is so so crucial for startups. It’s inevitable that there will be tough times and new lows. But what’s important is not dwelling on these low moments - whether you made a mistake, couldn’t give your best, or faced an uncontrollable setback. It’s important to learn from your mistakes but it’s equally important to move on forward without remaining stuck in regret!

Conclusion

Ted Lasso is one of my all time favorite shows, and I can talk at length about so many other things it teaches us about life. I even rewatched season 1 on my 8-hour flight back home from the offsite :P If you haven’t seen the show, I hope this article convinces you to watch it! (Apple’s marketing team, if you’d like to hire me, feel free to send a mail)

• shows
• startups