Six Strategies For Embracing Uncertainty As An Entrepreneur

Alexandre Bonvin is the founder and CEO of Audacia Group.

There’s no such thing as a safe bet in entrepreneurship. Turning an idea into a business is inherently risky—but to echo the words of Mark Zuckerberg, “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”

Through launching, acquiring, consolidating and scaling multiple businesses in the last decade, I’ve learned that uncertainty is a fundamental part of being an entrepreneur. The best entrepreneurs embrace the unpredictable and learn to thrive despite, or because, of it. I was reminded of this truth on a recent trip to the Bay Area. In Silicon Valley, entrepreneurs don’t hedge their bets; they go all in. This approach is a contrast to the ethos of Switzerland, where I grew up and started my businesses, which tends to be very risk-averse.

Not every entrepreneur is naturally adept at flourishing in chaos, but I believe that anyone can learn to see uncertainty as an opportunity rather than a threat. Adopting this mindset is now more important than ever. Rapid change is the new normal. Technologies, products and consumer behaviors are evolving far more quickly than in the past. When you’re running a company, you can’t be complacent. The strategies that work now probably won’t in a few years’ time.

Just look at social media marketing. From Facebook to Instagram to TikTok, brands have had to be agile and learn to connect with customers in new ways. In two years, people may be consuming content differently, and we will need to adapt and advertise on a new platform.

The pace of change can feel jarring at times, but it is also exciting. I encourage you to lean into the unknown and explore the many possibilities to innovate, differentiate and create value with your business. Here are six best practices to get you started.

1. Know When To Pivot

Pivoting is an entrepreneur’s superpower. Too many founders double down on their ideas, even when they aren’t working. They fall victim to the sunk-cost fallacy—choosing to continue a course of action because they have already invested significant time, money and effort into it. Recognize when it’s time to cut your losses and pivot a product or strategy. I had to do this several times with my early ventures. It wasn’t easy, but it was the right call.

Some of the world’s most successful companies have made big pivots, including Amazon, General Motors and Starbucks. Businesses now need to adapt much more frequently than in the past, potentially every decade instead of once in a generation. Build your resilience, and remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

2. Learn From Missteps

Success doesn’t come from avoiding failure. It develops as a result of learning and rebounding from past mistakes. Take inspiration from Michael Jordan’s words of wisdom: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

If your product isn’t working in this iteration, stay calm and strategic, and try again. Leading in an uncertain environment requires grace under pressure. You’re allowed to be scared, but don’t lead your team with fear.

3. Cultivate Trust And Transparency On Your Team

When facing uncertain circumstances, you need a team you can trust—and a team that trusts you. The first thing I prioritize when I acquire a new company is gaining the trust of the team. Change management can’t happen without it. Employees are under a great deal of stress, worrying about the future of their jobs and the company.

In these situations, communication is everything. You can’t communicate too much, in both formal and informal settings. Some of the most valuable discussions happen around the coffee machine or during lunch. Keep your eyes and ears open, and be as transparent with people as possible. People can sense when something isn’t right. Don’t hide important information or forget that you are a human working with other humans.

4. Involve Everyone In Planning

Don’t make scenario planning a top-down exercise. Seek input from employees at every level of your company. Earlier in my career, I used to work solely with managers and finance leaders on scenario planning, but that was a mistake. The people closest to your day-to-day operations often have the most valuable insights about problems and solutions.

Take a cue from military planning: Anticipate what could go wrong before it happens. This approach helps you prepare for unexpected challenges and prevents your team from getting blindsided.

5. Aim For Experimentation, Not Perfection

Foster a culture of continuous improvement instead of chasing the “perfect” solution. You can spend a significant amount of time and money trying to get a product just right, only to discover that it doesn’t work at all.

In one of my businesses, we invested six months in a complete website redesign. But when we did A/B testing, we found that the new website was performing 20% worse than the original site. The whole team was extremely discouraged and demotivated at first, but we persevered and kept experimenting and making incremental changes and eventually improved performance.

6. Build A Buffer

Financial health is the ultimate protection against uncertainty. Launching a new business rarely goes exactly as planned. Strive to build a solid cash buffer that will give you agility and peace of mind when you encounter challenges. Many successful startups raise more capital than they need in the short term to create a safety net for potential pivots in the future.

We don’t know what will happen in the next year or the next decade, but we can safely predict that it will involve more change and unpredictability. Keep an open mind, and take small steps toward becoming more comfortable with ambiguity. Cultivating a mindset of curiosity, not fear, will help you prepare for whatever comes your way.

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