Building a Dream: Six Lessons from Reference Medicine’s First Three Years

By Inga Rose, Founder and CEO, Reference Medicine

We recently celebrated our third birthday at Reference Medicine – and as any parent of a three-year-old knows, making it this far involves a joyful whirlwind of sleep-deprivation, frustration, mess, laughter, and ALWAYS delight. Reference Medicine has hit some amazing milestones in our three years, but they haven’t always come easily.

Parenting a business, man… it’s WORK.

As we’ve hit each anniversary, I’ve reflected on lessons learned, and I’m still learning more with each trip around the sun. We’ve grown from a startup to a truly growth-stage organization – a different kind of inflection point in business that encompasses a whole new set of leadership skills.  

To that end, here are six lessons I’ve learned in those critical first three years:

‍To make continued progress on big projects, take it bit by bit.

It’s easy to get caught up in the “everythingness” of running a business, especially as you’re growing. You’ve got a vision – maybe it’s a new service or a big operational idea – but actualizing it becomes overwhelming because it takes a lot of different individual activities to make it real.  I’ve found that taking on big projects piece by piece can be less daunting. It’s like trying to teach a little one to count to twenty – you have to take it number by number.  Breaking up big projects into phases helps us learn, discover what we need to change to better fit our vision, and hear and react to what our customers are saying. Tackling it bit by bit – while keeping the big-picture goals in mind – allows us to test out our ideas and tweak the individual moving parts so that the end result is truly meaningful. Remember to get your “1-2-3s” nailed down before you move on to 18-19-20!

‍Contract-to-hire is a great way to expand your team.

We are really happy to be growing at Reference Medicine, which means expanding our in-house talent. And I’ve found that contract-to-hire is the perfect solution for us. Someone may have the perfect resume and experience on paper but may not be the right fit for our environment, and it’s hard to know for sure until they’re in the trenches making contributions (or in some cases, not). Bringing someone in as a contractor allows both of you to try the relationship out for size. Just like you would with your child’s activities, you don’t commit to a two-year ballet program without seeing if your kid even likes ballet. Maybe it’s art. Or soccer. You don’t know for sure until you dip your toe in the water. We’ve found contract-to-hire to be so beneficial, not just for the team that's welcoming this new talent to the room, but also for the new employee. It can help them make sure ours is a room they actually feel comfortable in and that they can be a strong contributor, be themselves, and make an impact. 

‍Trust, but verify.

Especially as you transition your business from infancy to a new stage of growth, be discerning with your trust so you don't get blindsided. I’ve stubbed my toe big time over the course of my career by making wrong assumptions that could have had a material impact on my business. I’ve learned to avoid misunderstandings by having lots of level-setting conversations, regular check-ins, and an explicit alignment between my expectations and reality with my team, as well as with my service providers. Ask lots of questions and get documentation (document it, or it didn’t happen!). Continuing our parenting metaphor, if you ask your child to pick up their room, you’re likely going to then check to see that they’ve done it (to the best of their ability). That way, you’re not surprised to find a sippy cup of curdled chocolate milk under the bed two months from now. (EW!) Don’t assume you’re on the same page – because we all know what happens when you “ass”ume.

‍Processes are always in progress – nothing should be set in stone. 

Business growth requires structure and process, but here’s the thing – there's no “right” pathway or perfect process. Every child learns differently – maybe it’s visual or maybe it’s verbal – and you have to adjust as you find the best way to support his or her growth. You just need to keep moving forward and not let your ego or the way things have always been done stand in the way of evolution. We've evaluated and re-evaluated our systems so many times and adapted to our needs as we've grown. “Tell me my baby is ugly” (metaphorical babies only, please) is something we like to say to new team members so we can get a fresh perspective on how we’re doing things and how we can improve. Be open to the notion that the way you’re doing things now may not be the best way tomorrow; true forward momentum requires you to optimize and re-optimize as you grow and refine your business.

‍It still takes a village – but villages need to grow.

In my one-year reflection post, I stressed the importance of having a village to help guide you. Over the years, my village has changed to keep pace with the way my business has grown. Growth affects need, and I’ve treasured different members of my village during different phases of our journey. The resources you leaned on at the very beginning stages of your startup might have been the most excellent, phenomenal resources for that phase of the business. But your needs have probably evolved since then, so be sure your village includes members that positively contribute based on both where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow. (Transitioning from babysitters to play groups to piano teachers!)

‍Prioritize constantly.

If you think you're prioritizing too often, you probably aren't. It’s important to constantly evaluate your priorities and be diligent about focusing on what you realistically have the capacity to accomplish – and what you don’t. This is key for continual progress. Otherwise, you end up with a million half-done projects and nothing completed. Maybe that fourth temper tantrum in one day is telling you that a nap is a higher priority than practicing the ABCs. Prioritizing along the way also gives you opportunities to appreciate your work, give yourself a nice little pat on the back, and celebrate what you’ve accomplished. Which brings me to my last point…

When all is said and done, don’t forget to have fun!

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the past three years is to take lots of moments to recognize and acknowledge how far you’ve come and everything you’ve learned. Most parents will tell you that the job is hard work – but SO rewarding and SO worth it! Making a point to celebrate the wins not only makes you feel good; it boosts team morale and helps you remember why you started this journey in the first place. Parenting a business is hard, and you deserve some levity and enjoyment along the way. So be silly. Dance like no one is watching. Play in the rain. Throw an ice cream party. Have fun. This is your dream, after all.

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