You Need A Better Reason Than Money To Start A Company
“Most startups fail,” I said to the interviewer, Dave. “If I wanted the surest path to wealth, then I would have never left my corporate job.”
“It’s a mug’s game then?” Dave, said to me. Then I started laughing.
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“Why are you laughing?” Dave asked me.
“Let me tell you about the classic conversation I have with some of the engineers we interview. I call them the spreadsheet jockeys.”
“What’s a spreadsheet jockey?” Dave asked.
“Here’s what happens. We’ll interview a really qualified candidate. As part of the engineer’s compensation package, we will give the engineer stock options.
“The engineers that don’t join us all share the same profile. They will develop a risk-return profile of their stock options. It always works out that they discount the value of their options so much that convince themselves they are better off staying at their large company job.”
“So they never join you?” Dave said.
“Yep. However, in their defense, the engineers risk-reward profiles aren’t wrong because you’re likely going to make more money staying at your large corporate job.”
You have to be fanatical if you’re going to be an entrepreneur.
If you’re worried about money, then stay at your corporate job. The odds are you will make more money at your corporate job than being an entrepreneur.
I’ve written about this before, but it still holds true. Unless you’re fanatical about what your startup is going to do, then don’t start a company.
You’re going to get tested over and over again as an entrepreneur.
Barry, the Chairman of our company, used to say to me, “this is the NFL.” What Barry meant is that you’d better be able to take a beating if you’re going to succeed.
From raising money, to your co-founder quitting at the absolutely wrong time, to your largest customer cancelling their order at the last second, you’re going to be tested.
And, guess what? Money isn’t likely going to be enough to keep you going. That’s where fanaticism comes in.
Relating fanaticism back to money, you don’t care what the odds of your success are because odds don’t matter to you.
You’re going to keep going regardless of the odds. It doesn’t matter whether you’re facing certain death, your fanaticism will push you even harder to overcome the inevitable.
Fanaticism doesn’t guarantee your success. However, fanaticism is a necessary ingredient for almost every founder and CEO.