We used to glorify rockstars and aspire to them.
Now it’s widely known that you’ll probably just make no money and live as a stressed artist and should probably just get a job.
Likewise, we used to glorify the life of poets and authors.
We’re pretty certain that again they’ll just be poor and ignored. Taking a job would be much wiser whilst enjoying writing in your spare time.
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Currently, there is an overwhelming swell on social media and wider society to be an entrepreneur. We see all the success of these wonderful individuals and think it is a sensible aspiration.
If we aren’t moving swathes of self-made money around by the time we are 25 we are a failure.
This pressure is totally unhelpful.
What’s going on?
Most entrepreneurs have a warped idea of what a successful business is and aim for the VC narrative that they need to raise millions of dollars to build a hyper-growth startup. This makes it seem acceptable to start a company that doesn’t have a viable business model in the early stages in search of a giant gold mine once it hits scale.
Instead of all these young savvy entrepreneurs getting incredibly wealthy they are running around chasing a dream that will never come. Sacrificing their time and money to get there.
They are blind to building a product that actually solves a problem because they think they don’t need to have a business model when they start.
There is a gold rush on building a startup without realising how insanely unlikely it is to be the next Elon Musk.
They work ridiculous hours, making no money until they burn themselves out years later, having gone nowhere.
The dream of waking up to dive off their yacht in the Maldives before an hour of important calls and then some kite-surfing lies ever further away.
They face the stark reality of mounting bills and a panic attack for breakfast.
The dream has a bitter taste.
There isn’t a truthful message
I have been involved in entrepreneurship for 12 years now; including my own businesses, mentoring and investing in hundreds of others, as well as being involved in several business accelerators.
Over this time I’ve seen many successful founders come to talk about how you can be successful. On podcasts and social media, there are even more voices promoting the paths to success.
If we only listen to founders who have been successful it seems like there are good odds to get there. Yet of the thousands of individuals I see who start a business, very few actually enjoy themselves. Rarely do they progress to having a good business or mental health.
It’s not very interesting to listen to failures but when we only hear about success it paints a false narrative.
If 90% of conversations about business were all about failure it would be closer to reality, but not very interesting listening. So we need a different way to make people understand they will probably fail.
Entrepreneurship should be seen like musicianship and arts.
It is something that will probably make no money and should only be followed by those so passionate that they do it for the love of creating.
It should not be seen as a way to be successful.
The parable of the violinist
There’s an old story about a young man who cornered a world-famous violinist and begged to be allowed to play for him. If the master offered him encouragement, he would devote his life to music. But if his talent was not equal to his calling, he wanted to know ahead of time, so he could avoid wasting his life. He played, and the great violinist shook his head. “You lack the fire,” he said.
Decades later the two met again, and the would-be violinist, now a prosperous businessman, recalled their previous meeting. “You changed my entire life,” he explained. “It was a bitter disappointment, giving up music, but I forced myself to accept your judgment. Thus, instead of becoming a fourth-rate musician, I’ve had a good life in the world of commerce. But tell me, how could you tell so readily that I lacked the fire?”
“Oh, I hardly listened when you played,” the old master said. “That’s what I tell everyone who plays for me—that they lack the fire.” “But that’s unforgivable!” the businessman cried. “How could you do that? You altered the entire course of my life. Perhaps I could have been another Kreisler, another Heifetz—” The old man shook his head again. “You don’t understand,” he said. “If you had had the fire, you would have paid no attention to me.”
(I read this story in David Papendrews newsletter - Mental Pivot)
Promoting pessimism
I think successful entrepreneurs should be less encouraging to the next generation.
Instead of repeating the message that anything is possible and that anyone can make it, we should say the opposite.
We should tell people they are not capable, they aren’t savvy enough, and they aren’t going to make any money.
They are going to sacrifice their health, friends and relationships just to end up in debt.
They aren’t the next Elon Musk.
(Saying this would never have deterred actual Elon Musk from starting a business.)
We should deter all those from starting a business for the wrong reasons from ever trying.
We should berate those who start a business without a business model for being dumb.
We should ask entrepreneurs about their mental health, working hours and family life with sympathy.
Money, freedom and iron resilience are attractive things that shouldn’t be associated with entrepreneurship.
Anxiety, poverty and delusional aspirations should be the first things that spring to mind when we think of entrepreneurs.
Tough love x