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Potential Doesn’t Pay the mortgage
Life in the despair phase of a startup
There’s a visual representation of the startup journey where you see an initial spike of enthusiasm and traction before an equally sharp descent into what some call “the pit of despair”.
It’s a no-man’s-land between potential, brilliant feedback and early customers bringing in small amounts of revenue… and the true traction, sales growth and scaling on the other side.
I think I’m there right now. It’s a tough place to be, but I have to trust that’s it just part of the journey.
Here are some “thoughts from the pit” to help anyone who may also be there now (or about to step into it)…
The Honesty Gap
It’s very hard to find anywhere to be truly honest about how your business is going. To prospects you need to be the biggest most successful company you can possibly be.
On LinkedIn you need to tread this weird impossible line between being authentic and honest… but still look like you totally know what you’re doing.
Friends and family just want to know (or think) that… Everything. Is. Going. To. Be. OK.
And what about you, yourself? The Founder, the CEO, the entrepreneur, the inventor, the all-rolled-into-one…
