What is the shiniest and ugliest side of entrepreneurship?
Siddhesh Lokare
10 replies
I always thought entrepreneurship is a fancy and luxurious job to do until I literally started working with a few entrepreneurs. The amount of hustle it takes to work hard and make mistakes consistently blew me away.
But I want to know what you all think about this, what has been your experience or observation?
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Jason Cavness@jasoncavness
@siddhesh_lokare1 When we start this journey, most of us don't realize the time and patience required and how much this can suck at times.
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@jasoncavness The uncertainty dilemma is understandable. Very true!
The ugliest part for me is falling into the wantrepreneur trap, let's face it, entrepreneurs (you guys) are the new rockstars, that was not the case when I launched my first startup 20 years ago... and I saw lately more people falling in love with the posture more than the execution.
One typical example, it happened to me to meet -as a jury member- the same person, in 4 or 5 contests that happened in 3 years, the person was obviously more focused on being recognized as a startup founder than being one!
@raoufremidan It's easier to act than to act on it. Execution is such an impactful factor for moving towards the shinier phase of entrepreneurship. Totally agreed!
@siddhesh_lokare1 for instance I just declined to take part in a funding round for a food delivery app, the model was interesting (sharing economy), so I mentored the founders, they had $15K from friend and family but no technical founder, my advice was, go and get a third member, build an MVP and come-back with initial traction...
Initially, they sought $80K for 10% on a PowerPoint and no social proof... 1 year later still no app, they burnt the 15K in media exposure and Facebook ads and came back asking for the same $80K but this time it was for 4%! so basically they were valuing at $2M pre-money a PowerPoint and their social media fans!
@raoufremidan Woah. That is such an eye-opener for so many startup aspirants. Thanks for sharing this experience!
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Shiniest: controlling my time & energy
Ugliest: Not having that biweekly paycheck
@tyhitzeman That makes sense!
@tyhitzeman Are you comfortable with ugliest part? If yes, how do you keep moving?
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@siddhesh_lokare1 It's definitely scary. Thinking about my past boring jobs motivates me to not have to do that again. I'd rather be broke and have given it my best shot than comfortable and uninspired.