Money Heist, Professor, and Tokyo
Disclaimer: Don’t read it if you have not seen Money heist, can be sort of a spoiler.
Money Heist is a beautiful series, the storytelling, characters all of it. I absolutely loved it. The story of Money heist is a lot closer to starting up and building up an org.
How?
If you look at the Prof, he is the best version of a start-up founder. Awkward but confident, very detail-oriented with clarity in thinking. He knows to prioritize tasks and runs by a set of rules being extremely disciplined in his approach. He has a well laid out plan, has done enough research about the market and opponents (cops).
The Heist (start-up) looked difficult from the get-go. It was something which was very difficult to achieve but the reward was so huge. The journey was extremely difficult, it was a path set out for dreamers and doers. For people, who believed that it could be achieved and they knew the flipside of success would be a huge price that they would have to pay.
The Team was set. Everybody was hired on skills, skills that complemented each other. They were confident but doubtful, bullish but shy at the same time. A set of rules was set by Prof in front of the team but the team was a mix of young and experience, some played by it some played with it.
Professor: The Co-founder
Berlin: Part of E-team and executioner, immense faith in Prof.
Oslo and Helsinki: Perfect team-members. Not rockstars but dedicated and aligned to the team’s vision
Moscow: The experienced hire, specialist, and level-headed.
Rio: The gullible genius, didn’t have the clarity of what he really wanted.
Denver: The overexcited hire put under the tutelage of Moscow, learning the trade and prone to mistakes.
Nairobi: The in-line leader. Has empathy, skill and leadership qualities. Trusted by all.
Finally, Tokyo: Bought the idea but unsettled, almost always putting herself above the team but brought courage and flair to the table.
From here, we all know how the heist went. Those who were brave, were rewarded by success and there was a price that had to be paid. There were moments of self-doubt, almost failures, and breaking points but Prof helped the team and the team helped the Prof to pull it off. Sounds familiar to so many startups?
And there was Tokyo, I want to specifally talk about.
Tokyo was hired in the team, Prof knew the downside but she was hired. Once inside the team, she had faith in Prof and the mission. But, what did she really do?
She always played with the rules instead of playing by it. She kept her interest above the goal, the team, the Prof. Although like any new recruit she knew the danger of this startup but kept breaking at every moment, sometimes taking random decisions and creating chaos in the team.
The team paid the price for her. The plan almost got jeopardized, teammates were lost and almost everything looked like it’s over.
So why is it about Tokyo?
It is about Tokyo and every other people who join startup knowing the risk. They join the team but keep their interest over the team, they want to achieve success but rattle at every grind or turmoil that comes to their side. They are happy to put a teammate down to achieve something they really want. Breaking the team, creating doubts about the vision, and the founder (Prof). Although there were few obvious good qualities in her but, the risks were too huge for an early-stage startup.
So next time, you build an org beware of Tokyos that you will find down the line they will be hireable for all the passion, talent, and bravery they bring to the table but it will never be worth risking your vision, other teams members and the reward that success brings.
P.S: The Prof also broke the rule wrt Raquel and that shows that even the best of person would make mistakes and as much as we treat founders as heroes, they will do their share of mistakes.
