What can entrepreneurs learn from the Scandinavian notion of Janteloven?
There are very few entrepreneurs who have been able to duel global giants like Groupon and Ankur Warikoo is one such unicorn. I could sit here and type pages on how I’m in awe of the way his mind works but what I really want to touch on is the last time I heard him speak to one of our cohorts.
We had invited Ankur to Ashoka University to mentor our Entrepreneurs in Residence and he took the opportunity to explore the reasons why many startups fail to last. Interestingly, what he spoke about reminded me of a Scandinavian notion; Janteloven or the law of Jante which stands to say “You’re not that special”.
Seems harsh on the first read, I know, but bear with me for a bit. In the traditional sense, Janteloven is a way of instilling a respect for the other over the self. To me, it was a reminder that there is merit in learning from others.
Ankur posed a question he believes every entrepreneur should ask themselves about their venture — “Why hasn’t this been done already?”
Seems like such a simple and obvious question, doesn’t it? But how often do we actually stop to think about this?
As entrepreneurs, most of us tend to fall into common traps of self aggrandisation; of notions like “No one has ever thought of this idea before” or “I will succeed at this one thing that others have failed at”. We naturally tend to have a very myopic view of our ideas which (more often than not) is supported by the ecosystem that we live in. We surround ourselves with people who share our views and consume media which is curated to reinforce existing beliefs.
All of this pushes us further down the metaphorical rabbit hole and tricks us into thinking that we are the norm, that our way of thinking is the right way of thinking and our pain is the pain everyone else feels too.
By falling prey to this phenomenon, we block ourselves from realising that this idea that is so precious and brilliant to us might not actually need to exist, that this ingenious solution we’ve thought of might not be as perfect as we had initially thought, or (every entrepreneur’s worst nightmare) we might not afterall, be the best person to bring this idea to fruition.
This isn’t to say that we should all pack up and give up on our ambitions and dreams. As Ankur puts it, you can’t take the same path that others have taken before you and expect a different outcome.
For me this was an elegant reminder that while it’s important to dream big, dreams without perspective and intention seldom cause a dent in the world.
And this, I believe, is where Janteloven or at least a variation of it comes in handy. Real success can’t result from a “blinders on” approach. By all measures, of course it’s important to take pride in what you have created and in your potential but in order to stand a chance at creating any sort of impact one needs to spend some time seriously considering why others haven’t.
To quote a cliche, you are not the only fish in the pond and it’s pertinent to embrace that. To create something truly incredible, you need to step out of you own world; educate yourself, learn from every resource available and constantly re-evaluate what you think you know.
Afterall, the world needs dreamers and realists to come together to create a spectacular future!
