Quitting your day job to pursue a startup idea is an enticing proposition. Lots of people dream about building out a team, raising investment, going public, and becoming the next Facebook or Amazon or Microsoft.
But the reality is that most startups fail, and the entrepreneurial journey can be excruciatingly difficult, lonely, and painful.
Not everyone should make the startup leap.
Longtime Seattle startup operators and investors, speaking at the Seattle Venture Day event on Thursday as part of Seattle Tech Week, were asked to give “brutally honest advice” that might make people think twice about launching a startup.
Here’s what they had to say. Comments were edited for brevity and clarity.
Kirby Winfield, longtime startup leader, founding general partner at Ascend
“Someone who is doing it for the outcome should not do it. You need to do it because you like coming in and fighting every day and working with a team and talking to customers and building the product, and doing it all over again. You have to be that person. The best thing about startups is that the reward for work, is more work. And so you have to be someone who thrives on earning another level of work and the next challenge and the journey. And if you’re just motivated by the outcome, it’s probably not for you. “
Maria Colacurcio, co-founder of Smartsheet, CEO at Syndio
“If you’re a pessimist, don’t do it. You have to be such an optimist — glass half full, always another hand to play. You’ve got to be an optimist and you’ve got to be super persistent.”
Kristen Hamilton, serial entrepreneur, general partner at Enjoy the Work
“If it doesn’t keep you up at night, thinking about the problem that needs to be solved, if you don’t have that, you should not start a company. It’s that kind of guttural, intrinsic motivation that you have to draw on when the ship goes sideways. The second thing is, if you want the option to quit your job, do not raise venture money. Once you raise money, you cannot quit. Once they write you a check, with integrity, you have to persevere through it.”
Jonathan Sposato, serial entrepreneur, chairman at GeekWire, publisher at Seattle Magazine, chairman at JoySauce
“I would advise you not to do a startup if you are the kind of person that feels entitled to a certain kind of outcome. If you’re raising funding, you can’t take it personally if an angel investor or a firm says, ‘respectfully, we’re going to pass.’ If you are the kind of person that takes that personally, you’re not going to go very far.”
The panelists were also asked about the mentors, advisors, colleagues, family, and friends that helped them navigate their own entrepreneurial ups and downs.
Kristen Hamilton
“I was thinking about starting a company. I was sitting down with [WTIA CEO] Michael Schutzler and said I wasn’t quite ready to be a CEO. He said, ‘Kristen, no one is ever ready to be a CEO. You’re ready. Stop saying that.’ That changed everything for me because I would have continued to say that and I know that sometimes women do that.
“The community in Seattle has been incredible. I get emotional about it, actually, in terms of how indebted I am to the community and how much I love to contribute back. We need this ecosystem. We need each other. That is a differentiator for Seattle. We have a much more loving ecosystem in Seattle than other places. I’m really grateful for that.”
Jonathan Sposato
“One of my mentors is [Seattle Mariners chairman] John Stanton. He knows a lot about business. I’ve appreciated how much that friendship has offered me throughout the years. Sometimes you just need someone objective and cares about you enough, who is invested in your success, to say, ‘you’re f-ing up, stop it, and do this instead.’ “
Kirby Winfield
“One of the most important people in my whole entrepreneurial journey has been my wife, Alison. She’s always been a voice of reason. She’s been a partner in every way. She’ll call me on my bullshit and and she’s a great thought partner. I’m very lucky. If you can have that, it’s a huge superpower as an entrepreneur.”
Maria Colacurcio
https://ift.tt/iFxEhZR August 02, 2024 at 12:14AM GeekWire“That was exactly what I was going to say. You’ve got to have a really supportive partner if you’re going to take this leap. There’s going to be so many times where you’re not available, or you’re physically there, but your brain is so not there. You’ve got to have that support.”
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