58. What Nonprofit Leaders Can Learn From Startup Success and Failure with Ande Lyons

Want to remember exactly who you are – and be unafraid to claim it? Then you’ll want to tap into the infectious positivity and purpose my guest shares on this episode of What the Fundraising. Ande Lyons is a Startup Champion coach who, as the founder of four successful entrepreneurial ventures, knows intimately the ups downs, joys, and losses associated with taking big risks in pursuit of a passionate vision. 

While for-profit and nonprofit mandates may differ, many of the organizational challenges overlap. In fact, the pressures to deviate from the foundational mission, scale too quickly or ravage work-life balance are very often exactly the same. But Ande, who hosts Startup Life, is offering a different path forward. In this episode, We are diving into bedrock truths about founder identity and also busting some of the intimidating startup myths. A big one? Everyone is on their way to massive expansion. Wrong! Ande reminds us that the vast majority of businesses fail – and there is absolutely no shame in it. As nonprofit leaders, we must step into our authority and own the truth of where we are – even hard truths, like an organization’s unsustainable model or poorly matched donor partnership. 

It’s all fodder for growth and that learning goes with us to the next venture, says Ande. You’ll come away with food for thought about the power of saying “yes” to cold calls that are relentlessly saying “no” as well as strategies for defining – and then adhering to – a core value set that is authentic, sustainable, and abundant.

For more support around your nonprofit fundraising and leadership journey check out my Power Partners Formula and register for a masterclass here. 

Episode Highlights:

(02:28) – Ande shares the (varied and amazing) journey that brought her to today.

(05:38) – Founder identity begins in murky waters.

(07:30) – Impostor Syndrome: About the Groundhog Day nature of fundraising 

(09:37) – Problem-solving is an essential part of being a founder

(11:53) – Nonprofits & failure 

(14:53) – The difference between ego confidence and true self-confidence 

(15:43) – What it means to walk with our shadow selves 

(16:43) – It’s definitely win-win

(17:26) – Founders must not lose sight of their unique qualifications based on lived experience

(18:10) – When should you close a nonprofit? 

(23:10) – How societal beliefs set up a false template for success.  

(27:29) – Defining what success looks like clearly from the inside 

(29:24) – Celebrate every effort, event, conversation

(31:14) – The world is not a zero-sum game. 

(33:48) – About scalability

(37:03) – Understand yourself enough to know what you can and can’t handle

(39:10) – Mallory shares some hard lessons she learned about leadership and scaling 

(40:35) – Why Ande advocates for parent-preneurs 

(44:37) – Discernment is real and boundaries are so important 

(46:48) - Learn more about Ande 

Support for this show is brought to you by Bloomerang. Our friends at Bloomerang really understand fundraisers, which is how they make donor management software that nonprofits like to use. To learn more about them, head on over to bloomerang.com/mallory.