How does one decide to leap and become and entrepreneur?
Well … I’d say there are a few ways to decide;
- you decide …
Students want meaningful and relevant employment.
Start-ups want energetic and enthusiastic employees.
Sign up for SNS-12 is here: www.sns-12.eventbrite.com
This is the premise …
I’ll be speaking toward the end of February on transitioning to entrepreneurship and what to expect. The presentation will be turned into an ~15 part …
Nominations end tomorrow.
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Done something cool and innovative?
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Are you a bootstrapping start-up seeking fame and recognition for your hardwork?
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Check out the nomination form at “Bootstrap Awards”. Nominate yourself or a deserving start-up.
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Nomination Form
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Ian Graham
If fear of; the dark, pain and failure are the disease then passion is the cure. Passion is that inner fire that burns brightly within all entrepreneurs. It is that desire to succeed, the drive behind the dream and that almost inexplicable somewhat irrational motivation that propels them forward no matter what. IMHO this is absolutely the first and key attribute that all entrepreneurs must possess.
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I have written about passion a number of times on Blogmatic: Passion the poison Pill, Stupid Passion, Passion versus Profit and there was an excellent post on by Daniel Isenberg just last week on The Danger of Entrepreneurial Passion. Entrepreneurial passion is a common theme and certainly an essential ingredient for any entrepreneur to have in their character, however, while it cures “The Ugly” disease passion is a double edged sword.
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An Entrepreneur without passion is just another employee.
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Next Post – The Bad
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Ian Graham
Rational or more likely irrational fear of failure is probably the most pervasive of all the fears. This is also the most public and visible to the outside world if things don’t work. In very simple terms don’t worry too much about what other people think … really who cares. If your family, friends and close personal network are supportive then you are good to go.
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Work hard, do your best, strive for success, however, if the worst happens just remember your failures do not define you. In fact there is a saying that success is a poor teacher. Gandalf from the “Lord of The Rings” probably said it best “the burnt hand teaches best”. It is really all about attitude and personal character. In every problem or failure are the seeds of opportunity.
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Henry Ford struck out three times before successfully starting The Ford Motor Company. Thomas Edison had his share of failures before the light bulb went on. Most successful entrepreneurs have their share of failure before they experience success.
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You are what you think you are.
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Next Post – The Ugly – Passion
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Ian Graham
Fear of pain comes in a variety of forms; physical, financial and mental and all three tend to take a toll. These fear factors are most active during those first two years of darkness mentioned in yesterdays post. There is something about the dark that sharpens the other senses and makes them more acute to pain.
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Not a whole lot to say about the pain of getting going other than it hurts … your job is to suck it up and keep on going. Getting started means making some sacrifices and taking some punishment. When asked what you will do to be successful the only answer is “whatever it takes”.
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The best story I can think of with respect to focusing the mind in the right direction comes from Napoleon Hill’s classic “Think and Grow Rich”. A Roman general was preparing to invade Greece and his fleet had just landed on the shores of Greece. The General called all of his captains to him and instructed them to burn all of the boats. The captains protested, however, the General said I want the troops mind focused on the battle ahead and not thinking about the boats behind them. “Burn the boats.”
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If you want to be prepared for the pain ahead then focus your thoughts in the forward direction and burn your boats before you start.
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Tomorrows post: The Ugly – Fear of Failure
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Ian Graham
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It was TheCodeFactory opening day on May 26th 2008 and the common space was filled with 70ish people. A very happy day after longs hours of work in getting the space open. The truth of the matter, however, was that getting open was only the start of the journey and many more obstacles lay ahead. While basking in the glow of the opening celebration senior Ottawa entrepreneur and founder/CEO of Acorn Partners Peter Kemball took a moment to pull me aside and share this little nugget of wisdom. “Ian, when you start any business there are two years of darkness.” Not sure I immediately grasped the significance of what was said. However, I often find myself reflecting on these words and thinking to myself “have been at it for xx months only yy more months of darkness to go”.
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Virtually every entrepreneur I have had the opportunity to chat with shares that fear of the dark experience … that first two years of getting going. This isn’t your typical fear but one that is acquired as you progress. Usually when you are starting out you are unaware of the pain that can be caused by bumping into things as you flounder in the dark trying to find your way. This is the sort of fear that you grow into as the stark reality of getting going strikes home. First time entrepreneurs are protected from the full impact of this fear by their own ignorance. More seasoned entrepreneurs tend to look at starting from scratch again through a different set of lenses that experience brings. James Scott, CTO at Klipfolio a successful Ottawa start-up came up to me after the O’Rielly Ignite Ottawa presentation and said that two years of darkness slide really struck a chord with me, many others have shared similar sentiments.
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The two years isn’t an absolute; maybe it’s a year maybe it’s three, however, there is a definite period of darkness in getting going.
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Tomorrows post: The Ugly – fear of pain
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Ian Graham
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The next few posts help to emphasize the delayed part of delayed gratification that all entrepreneurs understand. There is a definite fear factor involved in entrepreneurship and fear comes in a variety of flavours. Here are the more common ones that spring to mind;
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- Fear of the dark,
- Fear of pain,
- Fear of failure.
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The fear factor is ever present and tends to be most intense when you want it the least. It is usually during those low points of despair that fear rears its ugly head. Every person that has started their own company; whether a coffee shop or software start-up will at some point encounters the fear factor. Whether it is fear of an every shortening run way or the challenges in attracting customers fast enough or cost effectively enough or what will others think about me if this doesn’t work. The question for the entrepreneur then is really more about how you deal with the fear factor and your attitude towards it.
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There is a secret ingredient that all successful entrepreneurs I have met possess to deal with fear … more about this after dealing with the ugliness of fear.
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Tomorrows post – Fear of the dark.
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Ian Graham
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… and TheCodeFactory gets an assist.
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We are extremely excited to announce our first confirmed hire from Students and Start-ups 4.
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Chris Saunders, student extrordinaire, is employee #1 at Zeebu Mobile a Lead to Win company.
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Hey Tony … Dan says only 5 more hires to go meet quota but they are looking to do better than that. BTW Sudents and Start-ups 5 will be launching in March and Samantha is also putting a new twist on our February edition.
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Gongrats to Chris, Dan and Anthony.
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Ian Graham
I first heard entrepreneurship referred to as a Bungee jump when Misha Nossik (a great and very successful entrepreneur) spoke at the Lebarge Weinstein Start-up Drop-in. Misha was one of the featured entrepreneurs at the event.
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The Bungee metaphor was based around his experience at a Bungee jumping site at a quarry in Gatineau Quebec. The decision point starts with a walk out to the jump platform on a catwalk 200 feet above the water in the quarry below. This would be the equivalent of that personal exploration into do I want to be an entrepreneur. After a bit of a walk high above the quarry you find yourself on the launch pad.
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Once you are on the launch pad looking down 200 feet to the quarry below that crucial decision is do I leap or go back. Entrepreneurship starts with that leap of faith. Interestingly enough my personal adventure in entrepreneurship officially began on 29-February-2008 that is the day the lease was signed for TheCodeFactory … kinda cool when you consider February 29th is leap day.
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Immediately following the leap there is an exhilarating ride down, I liken this fun part of starting up to the honeymoon phase of starting up your business. You progress downward until you reach the end of your bungee cord. Alison (Wife of Nikhil Adnani, thnkRF founder) said yes and then once you get to the end of your rope you bounce up and down a lot. Bouncing up and down is a common theme among entrepreneurial metaphors.
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So there you have it, the bungee metaphor for entrepreneurship. A bit of exploration, a leap of faith followed by an exhilarating ride and then a whole lot of up and down as the real work begins.
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Next post – The Ugly.
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Ian Graham
The first step to becoming an entrepreneur starts with the decision to be an entrepreneur. This is one of those forks in the road that you come to in life on occasion. A great metaphor for that decision point is a poem by Robert Frost “The Road not taken”.
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The road not taken
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Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
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Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
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And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
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I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
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Once you decide to venture down that road less travelled the entrepreneurial adventure begins. The journey is full of adventure, exhilarating ups usually followed by the depths of despair. It is a wild and bumpy ride. This series is based on my personal experiences, conversations with some of the other entrepreneurs and great people I have met along the way.
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Are you a reader or a writer?
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The first time I heard the reader/writer analogy for entrepreneurship used was at Entrepreneurship week in Waterloo. Ben Casnocha was speaking with Fred Ngo (of Montreal fame) at the event.
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The premise is that there is basically one of two paths in life that you can choose. A reader prefers to enjoy stories written by others and perhaps takes a somewhat more passive approach barrowing from their parent’s owner’s manual using that as a guide on how to live their life. A writer writes their own life story and creates unique opportunities. Entrepreneurs are writers.
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Tomorrow post – The bungee metaphor.
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Ian Graham
The Ugly, The Bad, The Good and The GREAT will be the first in a series of about 20 blog posts dedicated to entrepreneurship. The series has its origins in a presentation I gave at the first O’Rielly Ignite Ottawa. An event I plan on attending on a regular basis, thank you so much to Ian Capstick for encouraging me to speak.
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This series is loosely structured around perhaps one of my favourite movies; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. However, a common theme that all entrepreneurs understand is delayed gratification … therefore the series is entitled; Entrepreneurship – The Ugly, The Bad, The Good and The GREAT!
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The content of the posts is based on my own personal experiences, conversations with and presentations from local entrepreneurs and just generally observing entrepreneurs that make TheCodeFactory their work place.
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I hope you enjoy the ride.
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Ian Graham
