What they don’t teach you in startup school
Photo by shes_jack
“Entrepreneurs are supposed to fail. The true measure of success is how many times you’re willing to pick yourself up and keep on trying.”
Yes, I know that. My team and I have the battle wounds and scars from our previous failures. I think it’s great when entrepreneurs and bloggers talk about how you’re suppose to fail. “No successful person has succeeded without failing” seems to be the constant echo I hear throughout the blogosphere.
But there’s something they don’t tell you in startup school - There is a limit to how many times you can fail.
Forget about financial stability; the greatest pressure and hardship for an entrepreneur is emotional stability. Every time you fail, every time you make a mistake, and every week that goes by without generating revenue takes a toll on an entrepreneur’s emotional health.
What it feels like to see your company fail
In August of 2008, the Future Delivery team launched FD Career, the real life role playing game. In just 2 weeks, we had 1,300 members on our site and we thought we had strong momentum. But then slowly the signups began to diminish, potential clients decided not to sign with us, and new features took a back seat to generating revenue. Slowly but steadily, doubt began to creep into our heads and we began to feel like FD Career was not the product we set out to build from the very beginning.
Doubt and impatience are an entrepreneur’s worst enemies.
User signups began to slow and features took longer and longer to debut. One crack lead to another crack until suddenly the frame broke and our startup began to come crashing down.
It didn’t matter that we were all good friends and had spent an entire summer working together, when the startup is failing, you begin to resent your team members and blame them for the company’s misfortune. “If only they had listened to me and my ideas, we would be in a better spot right now!”
I don’t care how unselfish or how great of a leader you are. The pressure will get to you and you will have moments of weakness.
In the end, FD Career was put aside. Our development and marketing team left, leaving only the original founders to fend for ourselves.
Building the company back up
It took us 5 months to build Future Delivery back up to a point where we can launch a product. A common theme in today’s startup community is to bootstrap your company on your own. We all seem to love the scrappy entrepreneur who funds his own company without the need of outside investment.
We did that here at FD. It took us 5 months, but we were able to survive long enough to the point where we could launch Viralogy. But was the process fun and enjoyable? Was I living passionately like everyone tells us to do?
No, I was far from loving my life.
It’s worse than the 9-5 cubicle. At least in the cubicle, you are told exactly what to do, and are given a steady paycheck for your work. When you’re a young entrepreneur trying to bootstrap your company, it’s pretty much the blind leading the blind. We created a social media consulting company, a drop shipping company, an email list company, and a video tutorial company.
We worked much longer hours than the 9-5 and we made less money too. And even when we did make a lot of money, all of it went toward the company so we never really enjoyed the money we made.
It’s not glamorous; it’s not for everyone. I have had nightmares plenty of nights where I’d wake up in a cold sweat because I dreamed we had lost all of our clients and had to dissolve Future Delivery.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel.
If you push hard enough, if you have the endless desire to succeed, then maybe, just maybe you’ll have another chance at launching your company.
A second chance to make it big
How many times can a team fail until they turn on each other? That’s a valid question that everyone has on their mind, but no one has answered yet. I’ll tell you right now that the FD team must succeed with Viralogy. I love every single one of my brothers, but I can’t fail anymore. It’s not just the financial pressures that I have, but more importantly, it’s the emotional strain.
I hate that I can’t pay for every dinner; I despise that I can’t buy my mom a new TV for the living room. Someone just ran over my brother’s bike, and I don’t have the money to buy him a new one. It’s not the money; it’s that emotionally, I don’t feel like I’m living up to my responsibilities.
The startup life is tough, real tough
Is it just me? Am I the only entrepreneur who is honest and open about the hardships that we have to go through? How many entrepreneurs are out there blogging trying to teach you how to run your company, trying to give you advice about how to build a successful startup?
Too many.
I’m here to tell you that’s it’s ok to feel scared and it’s ok to feel down. I am there with you.
When you’re tired, your eyes are strained from staring at your laptop, and you just don’t think you have another ounce of work left in you, I’m right there with you pushing you forward. When you have run out of money and you have to move back with your parents so that you can afford to keep your startup alive, I’m right there with you pushing you forward.
We seek something more than financial freedom
What my team and I seek is not a lifestyle design. We are not seeking to live comfortably and be able to do all the things we want to do in life. We are whole-heartedly committed to one goal: to see Viralogy succeed. Forget about living passionately and doing what you live; sometimes, you have to do what you hate in order to succeed in a startup.
I am 23 years old and this is the second major product that I am launching with my company. I have no previous successes, but what I do have is a team that is fully devoted to the success of the company. You’ve known me before the product launch, and now you know me during the launch. My blog will document my feelings and emotions throughout this roller coaster ride and I will do my best to teach you everything I learn along the way.
Hopefully by the end of this journey, you will have witnessed me become a successful entrepreneur.
“sometimes, you have to do what you hate in order to succeed in a startup.” That should be the mantra for a young entrepreneur. Or “Learn to love the things you hate.”
You always have great content on this website. Your ability to relate your personal experiences with your community are unmatched. I admire you Jun! You are doing a great thing and I am inspired by your work and who you are.
-Bradley Will
Thanks Brad. I’m working hard, and trying to bring people into the startup life. But they have to know what to expect
Really honest post, I think it’s great that you haven’t sugar-coated or glamorized the life of an entrepreneur. I’ve only ever worked for small companies (with one ill-fated exception) and can testify first-hand how crazed the life of an entrepreneur can be.
Stick with it, the beginning is always hard but it can really get so much better! Best of luck to you and your company!
Yea, it’s always hard to get the ball rolling, but once it gets going, the ride is going to be the best ride I’ve ever ridden!
Hopefully my team and I can get there
Love this post! My team and I are going through the exact thing you are. Great story. I look forward to both of our successes.
All the best!
Andre! Keep working hard. I’m right there with you
Haha, yea, failing gets old. I’m making an executive decision to not do that anymore.
Good post!
That’s a great executive decision.
Next time, I’ll be CEO
Great post Jun - and you are doing great stuff, I see big things for you in the future. I know you don’t need me to tell you ‘don’t give up’ - but don’t give up! Virology has a ton of potential and I’m excited to be a part of this journey you are (and already have) embarked upon.
You’re on your journey as well right? When is that startup getting started?
We feel your agony, but we see the determination and passion so your future is bright. You’re absolutely right, regarding failure, it’s easier said than done. There are practical limits to how many times one can fail. But as Paul Graham says, key is not to get demoralized, and even if you get demoralized never give up! Good luck with Virology.
One can’t help feeling emotional when involved with a startup. If you can take the emotion out and focus purely on what needs to be done, then you have an amazing skill indeed
Great article and I liked your honesty about entrepreneurship.
A lot of people only see the glam of entrepreneurship with successes like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and the Google guys. I don’t think people really get a chance to experience and understand the major hardships entrepreneurship face early on in their careers and perseverance thats needed to succeed.
Keep up the great content and hope all is going well with the Viralogy launch!
Thanks bro. We’ll definitely pushing hard to make this one a success!
Awesome post Jun. I’m looking forward to reading about how things go with Viralogy. It’s a great concept, hope you have a lot of success
Thanks Jaclyn. Btw… you still need to be a guest on the show
Great post, I guess that’s what VC means when they say sweat equities but I guess they forgot to add tears and mental frustrations. People think entrepreneurship is a glamorous status label but really for those who live it, it is a lifestyle - you eat, sleep, dream and think entrepreneurship. It’s not a 9-5 as it is a 24/7/365.
Here’s to sweating it till you make it,
Cheers
Gotta keep working hard and gotta keep your head up. All we can do is keep a positive attitude pounce on an opportunity when it strikes
I’m ready to pounce!!
*sulks back into shadows*
I’m ready to pounce too!!! woohoo
… slides back
This is a great post Jun. For somebody who is 23 you’re going to have a hell of a resume built. Even if you do fail, you’ll have a story. My life has been a road of mishaps, and choosing wrong startups, but I’ve learned from every mistake I made. I think you are quite self-aware for somebody so young.
Thanks so much. I’m turning 24 this year actually, so I really don’t feel young anymore.
My knees are buckling and my first-step has slowed, but we will never give up!
You know, I have a draft of a post talking about this whole idea we have about failure. It has become a cliche that failure is inevitable, we must bounce back, blah blah. I get it. Failure is not something to be taken lightly, but I think what you’re hitting at here is important.
What is the breaking point?
How many failures do you endure before you realize it may be time to split ties, go separate ways, and say, “Hey, we tried”? Obviously, only you will know your breaking point, but I’m happy you explored this issue here.
I got a lot of value out of this post so, thanks.
It’s true, only the individual can know when it’s time to move on.
Failure is inevitable, but boy does it suck to fail.
Can’t wait to meet up next week!
Hey Jun, I’m currently 27 years old and I’ve had my share of business failures as well. Started my first business right out of college when i was 22 or 23 like you. The emotional low after a business failure is so crippling that it really does put you into a mini-depression. I failed again and again maybe due to excessive pride I refused to look at my mistakes and really learn from them. It took me getting a job working for another company for me to really take a look at my past ventures and analyze what I did wrong. As soon as I discarded my ego and licked my wounds, I was able to see what I did wrong and make mental notes not to repeat history again.
Failing sucks, but it’s only a true failure if you don’t learn from the experience. Failing will teach you more about yourself than anything.
Glad to say that my new ventures are now all doing fairly well and all generating growing positive cashflow. Still learning more and more everyday but at least I know I will not repeat history again.
Ryan, thanks so much for your honest comment. It’s so hard for an entrepreneur to admit he has failed. I hate saying it even though I know that every entrepreneur fails.
I’m very happy that you were able to learn from your mistakes. I hope that I have as well and will be able to use what I have learned to make Viralogy successful.
What are you working on now?
Hey Jun great post!
To be completely honest with you, and I know it will sound crazy, but I would much rather start from scratch and fail a couple of times (as I did in the past) than to be like Mark Zuckerberg and go straight to the top. It seems like he skipped the whole ride and got to the end of it before it even started. I enjoyed having to sweat for my projects, being able to remember the good and bad times we had with the startup and making our teams bond much stronger by the day. Everything I have learned since I started is priceless and I hope you realize your huge potential before every giving it quits! Just by following you and your team on “Living the Startup Life” showed your potential and I can honestly tell you that if you keep it up, you will see the light at the end of the tunnel before you realize it.
A movie that has always inspired me and will surely inspire you, it’s called “The first 20 Million is always the hardest” , I strongly recommend that you watch it! It’s the story of our lives.
Great post! Jun.
Yes, we are seeking something more than Fincial Freedom, that’s our dream, it’s about our self-actualization. You always ask in your awesome revolution: if you don’t need to work for money, what will you do in your life. And I always want to tell you that even if I don’t need to work for money, I will do the same thing as I do right now. We want to live our everyday as the last day of our life. And this is getting exciting!
I believe there will a light at the end of the tunnel. We just need to keep on digging and digging. We will be there! Trust me!
Thanks for posting this. It’s really refreshing to hear things like this, because those of us who haven’t “made it” yet start to think “well maybe…just maybe…I can do this, too.”
Thanks for the post and really appreciate your honesty.
With your mindset, half of the battle is already won.
At least you’re taking action now, knowing that action will create the clarity you desire.
If you failed, you have gained valuable experience of what works and what doesn’t.
But learn as fast as possible, just do the “wrong fast”.
It’s not about how many times you fall, but how many you’re willing to get up.
The question is: “Will you finish strong?”
My theory is, at the end of this, money will be the least of your worries (it is in one way, it isn’t in another). It’s like at that saying, “What doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger.”
I suppose it’s like that person who once said their goal is to conquer the world to his fellow men working at menial jobs. He worked really hard and spend quite a bit of his life doing so. Unfortunately, he didn’t meet his goal of conquering the world. He just managed to conquer all of Europe! He still is quite angry at himself for not conquering the world oblivious to the fact that he accomplished way way way more then he ever would have if he choose an ordinary lifestyle.
My guess by the end of this, whether or not you succeed in being a Founder of a highly successful CEO, you’ll know way more about yourself and about the world then if you just sat still and did nothing to grow.
well written article. I have found all of those to be very true from the experiences i’ve had since working on my ventures. If i can also add, a lot of young entrepreneurs tend to believe that building the startup and getting it to go live is the most difficult part, what i never learned till i actually experience it was that…advertising/promoting and converting random visitors to ‘customers’ or patronizers as the case may be IS often times (might not be always) the toughest challenge. Especially if you don’t have angel/venture funds backing you.
One of the best posts I’ve read in a long time. True, Emotional, Passionate, and love for your work I feel through those words.
You just gave me more inspiration to carry on with my dreams… failure ultimately leads to success.
I’m glad I found this blog
Oh, I luv this blog Juan..Very well written. I hope I can do my best in Viralogy
Another great post Jun! I think I’ve been reading for an hour now about all your other posts!
Keep the dream a live. Your young, and can really afford to go for it all and lose everything. It might seem like a lot, but don’t worry, you have your entire life to make money, but you don’t have your entire life to take big risks.
FS