To Beat the Competition, Ignore It.

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Entrepreneurship Section | 3

To Beat the Competition, Ignore It.

By Ali Donaldson | Inc. Magazine | April 2024 issue

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Ellen Goldsmith-Vein has been ignoring her competition for more than 30 years. In 1993, the now 60-year-old entrepreneur launched the Gotham Group with a focus on animation–an area of the entertainment industry she says no one wanted to touch.  Her bet paid off.  Gotham Group has established itself–growing its annual revenue 20 percent each year as one of Hollywood’s major management-production companies. It’s also the only one of its size owned by a woman.  “We just sort of chugged along,” says Goldsmith-Vein. “We stayed focused on what we were good at.” But even that evolved.  Gotham also expanded into film and television production and even publishing. To date, the company has represented five of the seven major publishing houses.  Still, to steer a company for more than three decades, Goldsmith-Vein says founders have to learn how to lose business–and not stew in the upset.

The other women entrepreneurs add their lessons learned.

1. Put yourself out there . “I hate the word lucky, because I don’t think success comes down to luck. I think it’s a lot of hard work. It’s a lot of going out there and knocking on doors and reaching out to people in the industry, putting yourself out there, taking chances. We managed to pull through little by little, and now we’re not so little anymore.”  By Vielka Ansari, founder of University Place, Washington-based electrical, HVAC, and plumbing company Resicon
2. Take setbacks in stride.  “Maybe it’s grit, maybe it’s stupidity, but you have to be willing to give up a lot. You’ll have bad days, weeks, and months, but all it takes is one random email or phone call to turn everything around. In the early days, those bad emails and good phone calls can feel like earthquakes, but as you grow and scale, those earthquakes start feeling more like tremors.”  By Lisa Kaplan, founder, chair, and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based disinformation and manipulation detection company Alethea
3. Don’t negate the negative.  “Always share the bad news with your board. That can be tough for entrepreneurs because we’re wired to see things from the glass-half-full perspective. That’s what allows us to keep going–you can’t allow yourself to see your business through rose-colored glasses.”  By Lana Feng, co-founder and CEO of Palo Alto, California-based health care and life sciences generative AI company Huma.AI
4. Understand your potential gaps.  “I have worn only Larroudé (her own company’s shoes) for the past three years–except a sneaker here or there–so I can see where our holes are and when we don’t have a shoe our customer may need. Each of our products has a purpose in a woman’s life.”  By Marina Larroudé, co-founder and CCO at New York City-based shoe brand Larroudé
5. Get used to rejection.  “As a founder, you’re going to be rejected and told no over and over again. What I’ve learned is that you can get a dozen noes, but when you get that one yes, it’s way easier to get more. By Lauren Picasso, founder and CEO of New York City-based wellness brand Cure Hydration

2 key takeaways from the article

1. The founder of the Gotham Group is the doyen of Hollywood’s animation set. She and other longtime entrepreneurs share tips on staying the course. 
2. According to thes women entrepreneurs:  To beat the competition, ignore it.  Stay focused on what we were good at.  Founders have to learn how to lose business–and not stew in the upset.  Putting yourself out there and knocking on doors and reaching out to people in the industry, and taking chances.  Take setbacks in stride. You’ll have bad days, weeks, and months, but all it takes is one random email or phone call to turn everything around.  Don’t negate the negative.  Always share the bad news with your board.  Understand your potential gaps.  And Get used to rejection.  You can get a dozen noes, but when you get that one yes, it’s way easier to get more. 

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Topics:  Entrepreneurship, Startups, Women, Resielence