Alright, so I've had a lot on my mind lately, as I'm sure everyone has. My job is killing me; It's officially taking me twice as long to recover from anything now (working out, a late night); I'm going to be a dad to a baby boy in 6-8 weeks (OMG!! Am I ready for this?!?), bills out the ass, soon to be more bills out the ass; I work out twice as much, and still have a gut; And, of course, last but not least, 'Hey Dave, let's try a startup while you're at it....' Idiot. Alright, so the things first mentioned...well, that's life (blah, blah, blah), so we're going to focus on the area of stress that I decided, 'hey, why not?!'. Doing a startup....why is it stressful? Well, I've concluded not for the general reasons you might think or assume why it might be stressful...let's begin.
Money. Money in some cases is fleeting. You earn, then you spend. It could be on bills, debt, new things, etc. But money invested is actually (in theory and in hope) growing your asset...to, say, buy MORE things, pay down more debt, etc. If all went well, money in, would multiply in money out. So, it's not money, because it's fleeting anyway. Of course, a little cushion is always nice!
Idea. Everyone has an idea, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Taking an idea, and making it a product is fun whether the product takes or not. Trying is 90% of the game. But the idea isn't the target of stress.
Time. It's limited, so whatever you do with time, you should be looking to move forward and make the most of it; successful product or not. You're going to have your time regardless, so it's worth trying new things, and bringing new ideas to life, rather than running in place.
What else...
Team? Nope, the team we have is amazing.
Alright, so all of the items, if looked at in isolation, really aren't the cause of any stress, really at all.
So, why is doing a start-up so stressful?
Doing a startup is like being given a wedgie, and then hung off the basketball hoop with all of your classmates throwing tomatoes at you. Or being pants-ed in the 7th grade in front of a group of girls, and it just so happened that it was the day you forgot to throw on your boxers.
You're in this constant state of feeling like an idiot. Like your idea is stupid, and people think you're crazy. If someone were to tell me that is what you should expect when doing a start-up, I may have re 'thunk' it (probably not, but....) I mean, all you ever really hear is, '99% of all start-ups fail'...so, what's the big deal? "So, you're telling me I gotta chance" - Lloyd Christmas
Or, you feel like people think you're delusional....like you're the guy who shows up to the gym and runs on the treadmill in his khakis and dress shirt...."Who does this guy think he is?"
It's funny, I was talking with our mobile dev engineer about what it feels like when it's your product (I'm coining this term from somewhere, or it was similar)....when you look at your product, you get this overwhelming sense of both accomplishment and embarrassment. Something like, 'Holy Crap, my idea is actually live, and you can visit it' immediately into 'Holy Crap, my idea is actually live, WTF am I doing?!? It sucks! I wouldn't visit this, why should anyone else?!?'
You feel like you're walking in a desert, and you see mirages of people holding water, you chase after the mirage, and it disappears...You're constantly disappointed, annoyed, nit-picky, frustrated, pissed off...you spend too much time on it, and really do question "Why did I ever try doing a start-up?"
What if I did this, or made this tweak?...haha....
Well, then, why the hell do I keep pushing forward? I don't know, other than I'm not ready to quit it yet, and, truth be told, I haven't really pushed it because I've been too frustrated by it! (there in lies the problem). So, starting now (and with the mobile coming out very shortly), I am officially going to 'un-wedgie' myself, come down from the basketball hoop, wipe off the tomatoes, and give this thing a go. Time to pull the pants up off the ground, tuck my shirt in, and give this a whirl. Because, at the end of the day "why not?". There will always be critics, people will think you're crazy, but I will never actually know unless I take the khakis off, and throw on some running shorts (had to tie it all together!)
There is no doubt a start-up is hard. But honestly, it's hard because it's so mental and emotional. I wouldn't have thought that in a million years before I started Hey Nelly. But, it truly is beautiful, daring, and fun at the same time, and it really does make it worth it.
I know no matter what, I am going to be so thankful that I at least tried, no matter how embarrassing, or stupid, or even ashamed I feel when doing this, or after we push it more broadly.
It's always darkest before the dawn, and everyone needs a good wedgie every now and again! :)
