Entrepreneurs are some of the most resilient, resourceful, optimistic and “LONELY” people in the world. Despite all of the qualities that make them such amazing people, it’s these same qualities that often lead to startup budgets going bone dry and doors (physical or virtual) being shut for good. As smart as you are, going at it alone will make your life much more difficult and drastically reduce your chances of success.
Mentors are the difference…
93% of successful startups admit to having mentors guide them along the way. It’s not a coincidence that most Y-Combinator companies leave the startup accelerator with a completely different idea than the one they started with. Slack’s original idea was an online video game called Glitch. Twitter started as a platform to find podcasts called Odeo. Twitch.tv started as Justin.TV – literally just looking at one of the co-founders life 24 hours day via live stream that eventually built the infrastructure for the business to come.
Mentors hold you accountable and push you to evaluate and re-evaluate your business. They are a person to lean and talk about your problems, and a good mentor, though you will only thank them when you’re successful, will check your ego every chance they get. They connect the dots because they have seen the full picture. They trust their instincts based on wisdom, and leverage their deep networks when they are unsure for a second opinion.
This is some of the best free advice you’ll ever get, so, if you don’t have a mentor today, I highly advise you get one. Your life, business, and investors will thank you for it 🙂
My mother in law loves to sew.
A few years ago she asked me how to set up an online store.
She wanted to sell fancy throw pillows she was making.
I gave her very basic steps. Enough to get started (I don't know much about ecom).
A few weeks later she showed me her site. It
Whatever your 2024 goals, hopes, and dreams are.
I hope you make it.
Everyone wants “yes.”
But they don’t wanna pay the price.
100 Nos is the price of one yes.
You can get as many as yeses as you damn well please as long as you’re willing to pay the price.
I was sad to learn that Charlie Munger died today at age 99.
What a life.
He would likely roll his eyes and argue that none of us should be too surprised, based on the actuarial tables, but we’ve lost one of the 20th century’s greatest investors and businessmen.
Chris and I
