The days of a "billion dollar creative idea" are over.
It's now based on who/where you used to work with.
I’m sorry that I’m saying that. I’m an advocate of entrepreneurship. I’m the sort of person people approach with such creative ideas and ask me to enhance their pitch for it and ask for millions, and I’ve helped companies raise quite a sum.
Now given my position, I can confidently tell you that this is not our current age.
Don’t watch “The Social Network” and get inspired by the idea of Zuckerberg and how it grew.
Don’t think that if you had owned Bitcoin when the time was right, you would’ve been financially in a different place right now.
Simply put, this is thinking in the past. It’s as if you’re saying, “If I was alive 300 years ago, I would’ve changed the world.”
No, this entrepreneurial world has changed. Instead of the above, it’s now:
If you’re a CTO of a growing startup company, you’ll get flooded with cash to start a new one.
If you’ve had one successful startup, you’re a “serial entrepreneur” and you’ll raise funds with a phone call.
VCs are now putting the first criteria as the history of the founders.
If it’s interesting, then the rest is not really as important.
If it’s not, then they’ll be waiting to be really really impressed.
Motivation is not the fuel of entrepreneurship anymore.
It used to be that when people like Steve Jobs put their minds to something, it would work out. This motivational story of never giving up, until it works out.
This story is the closest thing to “entrepreneurship utopia.” The more I talk to clients, the more I realize that many, and I mean many, entrepreneurs should come down to Earth and out of that utopia.
It’s good to be motivated.
It’s better to be impartial.
90% of people can’t do both at the same time. So yes, the next time you have a company, don’t just logic it out by saying that “I believe in this very strongly.”
Instead, show the statistics that prove that you might be right, and acknowledge that you might be wrong.
That’s what the world is looking for these days.
A person who is not blindly confident.
A person who could admit a mistake.
A person who’ll do their best.
In other words, a human. We’re looking for humans in this AI age. Because, believe it or not, the best ROI to date, for any VC/investor came from a human, not an algorithm.
Just do it, and be quick about it.
This Nike moto is the only one you need. Jumpstart your entrepreneurial adventure.
If it works, it works.
If it doesn’t, move on (and be quick about it.)
I remember having two meetings on the same day a while ago.
Meeting 1 — the client had already raised millions and was looking to enhance their deck to raise more for their product that’s already selling. Straightforward and direct. They know what they’re looking for. I know how to help. It has nothing to do with the feeling of the founder towards the startup.
Meeting 2 — a newbie client (first startup) wants to work on a deck to sell equity to a VC with no working product but an idea that he deems worth billions. The more he speaks, the more the conversation sways towards the motivational TikTok video segment.
Two different universes — one that makes sense, another that is based on a fairy tale.
You could read this and prove me wrong in a year.
Your friend could read this and thank me for this wake up call.
Both options sound like a win-win.
Till then, experience the world of entrepreneurship the way you feel is right (but always remember that time is your most critical asset in this world…)