The importance of knowing where(ish) you’re going
Issue #05: a company that loses sight of its North Star will get lost
Getting sh*t done is one of the most valuable traits in entrepreneurship.
At a certain point, founders know they need to stop thinking and start doing. It’s about accepting that you can only take it so far, and that most of the truly game-changing learnings will come after putting it out there, even before it’s ‘perfect’.
But we should not minimize the value of real reflection in entrepreneurship either.
Great companies are born from strong convictions—deliberate, anchored beliefs about how something should be, along with a fire to bring it to life.
But with 1001 decisions to make every day, it can be easy to slowly veer off track from this mission without even realizing it.
Of course, it’s key to be agile. But a company that’s forgotten its North Star will get confused, murky, and ultimately, lost.
This is why it’s essential to find the time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Not to overthink every move — but to remember why you started your company in the first place, and assess if your daily actions are contributing to this mission.
If not, it’s time to raise the alarm 🚨
The same applies to Hexa. These last twelve years, we’ve been so busy creating companies that we haven’t taken the time to reflect on what we’re really trying to achieve. With the unique capacity to create future companies and set their standards, we need to make sure we’re building the right kinds of companies. The kinds of companies that are aligned with our values.
To keep us on track, for the first time, we put words to what these values are ⬇️
Files from Hexa
🌟 Hexa’s 14 principles for company building
Our mission at Hexa is to build exceptional companies: companies that are driven by ambition, and fuelled by purpose. This can easily sound like corporate jargon with nothing to back it up, so we listed the 14 principles that bring this to life within a company. They are principles that our 40+ companies all have in common, and that our future ones will also share. For us, they are the kinds of companies that deserve their place in the world.
🧠 6 GTM quick-wins that work — and that are fun
When you start a business or are an early employee, you want to be productive. This often translates into: “I sent 250 emails last week”, “I scraped a database of 2000 emails”, or “I launched a workflow sending hundreds of LinkedIn messages”. It's a race for numbers, and a desire to do well. It’s everything Quentin, Hexa’s GTM Lead, dislikes, as it misses the most exciting part of growth. So, he put together a list of quick wins that are faster than mass outbound campaigns, are more intellectually stimulating, and help you understand your customers better.
Other files we recommend
📻 20VC’s insights with Jason Lemkin
What is a growth rate that would excite Jason? What is average? What levels of churn would worry Jason to see? Listen to find out.
🌡️ Silicon Carne’s temperature check of SaaS
A real (negative?) look at the current state of the market in 2024. In French.
🔎 Sam Altman on how to hire
Published 11 years ago, but still holds true. Because we need to remind ourselves of the basics.
News
🐱 Roundtable (HX22) launches investor database on PH — today!
The core of their business is literally about Business Angels, and even they took time finding the right ones for their Seed fundraising last year. That’s why they’re making their precious intel public, putting together a list of 500+ investor profiles that are currently active, to save you time in the preparation of your next round. Support the launch on Product Hunt today, right here.
💸 Tengo (HX23) raises €3M Seed round
Tengo has secured €3 million led by Point Nine! A huge step step in their journey to untangle the messy public tender process, we can’t wait to see where this next phase takes them and how they will continue to deliver real value to clients across France and beyond! Well done team. Read more.
📭 Hexa Open Source goes live
People are screaming out for more trust and transparency in the digital space. That’s why we’re excited to introduce our new Open Source vertical today - led by Ugo Vollmer. We want to launch new companies built around trust, differentiating themselves in the market with transparent solutions. Read Ugo’s manifesto here.
🔆 Call for founders for Hexa Health’s DermiX
Skin cancer takes over 2000 lives every year in France. DermiX aims to lower the death rate by creating a new path to get care, enabling every patient to get their moles checked out within seven days. from their own home, complete with teleconsultations, body imaging technology, and AI. We’re looking for a CEO, CTO, and Medical Director. Apply here.
Jobs
CTO at Hexa
Fullstack Engineer at Tandem
Founding Engineer at WeightX
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or suggestions for this newsletter, don’t hesitate to hit reply. In the meantime, you can follow us on LinkedIn & Twitter.
Cheers,
The Hexa Team