How Did You Get Your First Big Break As An Entrepreneur?

“Brett, come with me and take your stuff with you,” the VP of HR said to me.

We were in the middle of the company’s weekly operations meeting. The minute the VP of HR asked me to take my stuff I knew I was being fired.

And being fired from this company was my big entrepreneurial break.

Now being fired never feels like a blessing when it happens. However, being fired was the best thing that ever could have happened:

• Being fired knocked me out of my complacency, and..
• Being fired forced me to explore the possibilities of doing something ambitious.

I started contacting various people I knew including the contacts I made in Venture Capital. I sent them a simple note saying, “I’m available.”

That simple note led to several opportunities including become an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at a VC firm in San Francisco. The Managing Partner of the VC firm asked me if I was interested in incubating an Analog IC company (my expertise).

I agreed to build the company with the idea the VC firm would invest.

In strange twist of fate, the partner I was working with at the VC firm, ended up being fired, so the VC firm didn’t invest. We were still successful raising the funding (after 63 investors passed), but that is another story…

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