Ahmed Badruddin

Three minutes of extra time ended. The last German attack was also unable to break the Spanish defense. The score line: Spain 1 Germany 0. Millions of hearts broken as Germany’s fairy tale World Cup campaign ended. Being a life-long Germany fan, supporting them loyally since 1994, I was really bummed because I think this time around they had the most exciting team. Germany started the world cup with the second-youngest world cup team, one that had little experience playing at the International stage and with each other as a team. However, they surprised everyone with very creative and attacking soccer and quickly became one of the favourites.

Even though Germany did not win this world cup, they accomplished some amazing things and there is a lot to learn from this young, brave, and diverse German team. I believe if you spend some time comtemplating, you will find many hidden lessons in sports. Taking an unorthodox perspective, I am deriving lessons for tech startups from this German team. Here they are, in no particular order:

Every world cup, there are teams that trash talk before the world cup has started and assume the world cup is their right. Usually they are the first to get eliminated. And then there are teams like Germany that stay humble, set low expectations with their fans, and focus on preparing for the world cup. Before the world cup started Arne Friedrich, one of the most experienced players in the team publicly said Germany is not the favourites to win. Yet when the world cup started, Germany became one of the favourites. Before the second round game against England, Assistant coach Hansi Flick said England were the favourites over Germany’s young team. Yet Germany beat England 4-1. Before the quarterfinal game against Argentina, Joachim Low said ”Argentina are a team with many qualities, I’m expecting an incredibly tight game”. Yet Germany beat Argentina 4-0. I think a humble approach allowed Germany to be more focused on the game.

I think the tech startup world is too competitive for there to be room for arrogance. Most startups fail. It’s tough. All the odds are stacked against you. A very small percentage of startups get funded. A fraction of those succeed. A smaller fraction of those result in a good exit for the founders. If you have a good idea, chances are someone’s already done it, or five other companies are already working on it. You never know when a large tech company moves into the same space and becomes a direct competitor. Those are some of the things I think about and plan for everyday. There’s opportunities to innovate in every space but when you get down to execution, there are a lot of challenges.  And so, you can’t help but be humble when you are aware of the realities.

Germany was a great example of what a diverse team can accomplish by operating as a team. 11 of the 23 squad members had foreign backgrounds, from places such as Turkey, Poland, Brazil, Ghana, Spain, Tunisia, Nigeria, and Bosnia. This was great because each player brought a unique playing style, and combined gave the German team the creative flair that impressed everyone.

France had a diverse team of immigrants with various backgrounds too. Except it wasn’t a team. There was no discipline, unity, or teamwork. There were fights internally and their whole world cup performance was an episode from a soap opera. They walked out of practices, disrespected their management. And they suffered an early exit from the world cup.

I think it’s important for the majority of tech startups to build a diverse team because they are often working on something new or innovative that requires a unique combination of skills and experiences. For example, a new financial software may require one founder from the financial industry and one founder who has a tech background. Also, you always want your co-founders to compliment you and bring different perspectives. This also means the team needs to work as a team with an aligned vision to succeed, despite differences in opinions.

Germany’s strikers Klose and Podolski had a very poor season leading up to the world cup. They were missing the simplest of chances. The safest thing would have been to include the strikers that were in form in the Bundesliga league, such as Kevin Kuranyi. In fact, if things had gone wrong if Kuranyi was included, no one would’ve blamed the coach for making the pick. However, had Klose and Podolski not performed at the world cup, Coach Lowe would have been under some serious criticism. It was a very gutsy call but including Klose and Podolski proved to be the right decision.

Sometimes you just need to believe in your team even if there is no rationale for it. And when things go right, and the faith is rewarded, it’s a very fulfilling moment. This also means spending a lot of time upfront picking co-founders and early employees, and a lot of time team-building.

All the ‘stars’ of the world cup, Rooney, Ronaldo, and Messi, only scored one goal in 13 games. They were the three best players in the world yet disappointed everyone with lackluster performances. Individuals don’t win games. Teams win games. And managing team dynamics is really hard, but if done right, creates champions.

In the tech startup world, beyond each individuals qualifications and experiences, you also need to look at fit. Because if the fit isn’t there, more harm will be done than good. Often times, you have to drop the best person on paper in favour of a better fit. It’s extremely complex. But just like in sports, you need the best person for each position that will blend well into the team.

This world cup, the second team I was rooting for was Team USA! I’ve lived in the US for 3.5 years and I think Team USA played with a lot of heart, character and integrity. During the group stages, there were so many calls that went against them that could’ve led to an early elimination. Their opponents were teams that played very dirty soccer, diving and cheating excessively. They had several goals taken back due to incorrect offside calls, including one against Slovenia which would have been the game winner and one against Algeria during regular time which would’ve put them ahead. However, in the last minute of extra time, they found a way to score, beat Algeria, and top the group. They didn’t give up. They didn’t complain. They kept fighting on.

This probably applies to the tech startup world on not just a daily basis, but sometimes on an hourly basis. There are so many moments when you are down and things don’t go according to plan. But you have to keep getting back up, find ways around obstacles, and continue to fight for your dreams.

The Germany coach, Joachim Loew, got his tactics right in every game except for the one against Spain. To his credit, I think the squad didn’t have the depth to execute the defensive + counter attack strategy he devised for the game. I think if he had played a more attacking strategy, which was natural for the team, Germany might have won 3-2. (Or might have lost 4-3). At the least, I think they would’ve put on a much better game.

Similarly, in tech startups, I think chances of success are much higher if you play to your strengths. Sometimes you need to work for another startup or a large corporation, or do a smaller startup to build your strengths before you are ready to start your dream startup. And it also helps you identify what areas you need co-founders or early employees to fill so you can continue to play to your strengths.

As far as Germany goes, I think they will win one of the next 2-3 world cups. I’m sure that within a decade, I’ll be a proud Germany fan. And that moment will be a very special moment. Generation after generation, Germany has always been a team with strong nerves. They don’t panic. And that is one of the reasons they make it far every world cup, runners up in 2002, and 3rd place in 2006 and 2010. I was hoping Ballack would be this decade’s Beckenbauer and lead Germany to a world cup win this year and I’ve been wearing #13 since 2000. My hope is that Schweinsteiger or Lahm will take the baton next world cup. Deutschland Uber Alles