I’ve been in and around business now for 15 years, both starting and investing in businesses – 33 companies and counting – and what I’ve noticed is that there are recurring characteristics that all great entrepreneurs have.
In San Francisco, being an Entrepreneur puts you at the top of the food chain and failing is worn like a badge of honour – so most people can’t wait to jump into a pool full of startup Kool-Aid. Even the non-swimmers.
“Find something more important than you are and dedicate your life to it.” ~Dan Dennett I love that quote! To truly feel alive, you need to find something that you love, and you can’t do it for prestige. It requires passion. There’s a great video of Steve Jobs answering the question asked by Kara Swisher, “What’s the number one thing
The world is riddled with people and their excuses. They always have a reason for something not going their way. I choose to take a different approach. I believe that I own 100% of my outcomes. I either win or I lose because of my actions. Some might blame circumstances, but I don’t. I look at it as a learning
Why are more people scared of public speaking (74%) than of death (68%)? Think about that… more people would rather be in the casket, than giving the eulogy. I think that’s ridiculous and that understanding our fears should be a top priority in our life.
Starting a full blown company is a scary endeavour… that’s why I’ve always started very small. My approach is very iterative. At each step I’m trying to prove if there’s a “there, there.” Or better yet, “Will the dog hunt?”, “Does anyone want this?” I also start off with a few contradictory assumptions:
I was born on December 26th, 1979. Today I turned 32, although I still feel like I’m 17. Turning 30 was tough, but the past few years have been the most rewarding times of my life. Last summer I got engaged to a beautiful women and two weeks later we signed a term-sheet to sell Flowtown to Demandforce. Looking back
Quotes from the video: When you want to succeed, as bad as you want to breath, then you will be successful When you get to a point, that you want to be successful – as bad as you want to breath – then you will be successful Most of you don’t want success as much as you want to sleep.
If you’ve ever felt a bit crazy, different or that you might not fit in … good for you! The “crazy ones” are those that push the status quo, that dream up the big ideas and shape our futures. Care less about what people think and more about creating. We need more creators. I don’t care how freakin’ weird the
Do you already work 60, 80, maybe 100 hours per week? If so you’re definitely not lazy, but are you really working on the right—or as they say—the “Main Thing”? “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing” ~ Stephen R. Covey Easier said than done.
