‘See you at the IPO party’

Nope – not the Zeo IPO party (someday).

I was told by a fellow entrepreneur recently ‘see you at the IPO party’.  We had planned a ski trip – flights booked, rooms reserved, powder days forecasted… he decided to work on his startup instead.  I said he was crazy – he said ’see you at the IPO party’.  Hell, maybe I am wrong and there are personality types that can sprint start to finish – but even among entrepreneurs I think these individuals are in the minority.  He has decided to focus on his startup to the exclusion of his life – I hope it works out for him.

I have seen many startups fail – usually not due to a market flaw, product flaw, or financing mishap.  That may appear to be the problem – but the more likely scenario is that the entrepreneur just couldn’t keep killing himself/herself to overcome the problem at hand – and they gave out.  This isn’t a lack of willpower – people simply run out of the creative and mental juices that allow them to solve tough problems.  It’s natural and human – you can only run so far at full speed.

I have spoken with many of these entrepreneurs – they worked as hard as they could, came up short – but damn – at least they gave it their all!  Its comforting to feel this way – no one can blame you for running as hard and fast as you could for as long as you could and not making it – right?  Not so fast.  By continuously sprinting most entrepreneurs make it less likely that their startup will succeed.  They also suffer personally.  This could come in many forms:

• Can’t stand missing out on children growing up – re-evaluate life time
• Run out of steam emotionally and physically
• A husband/wife puts the foot down – time to get a real job and stop working insane hours
• Start making bad decisions as a result of being at the brink – startup death ensues
• Even startup success can become personal failure – how many entrepreneurs achieve the hollow victory of pre-mature aging, broken relationships, and a full bank account?