Mark Suster Is Wrong, You Should Be A Startup Entrepreneur
Last night I came across a blog titled Should You Really Be A Startup Entrepreneur? by entrepreneur turned VC, Mark Suster. I’ve watched Mark speak before and I appreciate the wisdom he shares with the startup community.
In this blog, Mark argues that “wantrepreneurs” should “make sure it’s in your personality type, make sure you have the risk appetite, make sure you can afford to take the risks given your life situations and make sure you know that there is a high possibility your startup won’t be hugely financially rewarding.”
Here is a list of traits Mark says you need to become a startup entrepreneur:
- Not very status-oriented
- Doesn’t follow rules very well and questions authority
- Can handle high degrees of ambiguity or uncertainty
- Can handle rejection, being told “no” often and yet still have the confidence in your idea
- Very decisive. A bias toward making decisions — even when only right 70% of the time — moving forward & correcting what doesn’t work
- A high level of confidence in your own ideas and ability to execute
- Not highly susceptible to stress
- Have a high risk tolerance
- Not scared or ashamed of failure
- Can handle long hours, travel, lack of sleep and the trade-offs of having less time for hobbies & other stuff
Mark is wrong.
Okay, maybe I should say “I disagree” with Mark on this issue, and he has a couple decades more experience than I do. So who am I to say such a successful entrepreneur and investor is wrong?
I was once a “wantrepreneur” and someone who asked “should I start a startup?”. At the same time, I would not have assessed my personality as Mark describes. I did not consider myself an entrepreneurial type, although it turns out I am. I did not consider myself to have a risk appetite, although it turns out I do. I was not sure I could afford the risks given that my wife and I had a new baby 2 months prior, no savings, and I was not aware that my startup wouldn’t likely be financially rewarding, although I did afford it and my startup did become financially rewarding.
On the other hand, a lot of what Mark says is right. Startups are like riding an emotional roller coaster. In fact, I agree whole heartedly with this image:
(Image courtesy of Rich Evenhouse on Flickr)
The up-and-down scenario Mark describes is spot on. As he puts it, “Your highs are super high. Crack. Your lows are unexplainably low and lonely.”
Here is why I say “Mark Suster Is Wrong”...
I know from experience, it is wrong to assume you understand yourself well enough to say, “I don’t fit that profile”, if you’ve never done it. You will learn to love things you didn’t think you’d ever take interest in. You’ll grow an appetite for risk, for business, for sales, for customer development, and for things you might today tell yourself, “That’s not me”.
I used to tell myself, “I like programming. I would never want to run a business. That’s not me.” — I was wrong. You might say I became addicted to the roller coaster. I enjoyed it in ways I would have never imagined. I never looked back at any of my experiences and thought, “I regret that”.
So, as my belief goes, if you have the guts to wonder, and even ask out loud: “Should I start a startup? Should I become a startup entrepreneur?” — Chances are you have an entrepreneurial vision. A glimpse of the future as it would be if your product/service/idea were to exist. That, right there, is all it takes to determine whether you should become a startup entrepreneur. Vision, and the motivation to try.
Some might say, “I have a vision, I can see my product in the future, but I don’t have any motivation.”, and I would argue that your vision is not yet clear. Motivation stems from confidence. Confidence in your belief. Belief that your vision represents something of real value, and that you have the ability to create it.
For me, the vision came easy, as it often does to those who dream about the future. The motivation, confidence, and belief in my ability to create it was hard fought (and won) by exploring the massive amount of writings, advice, interviews, biographies and so on of entrepreneurs before me.
That’s the way successful entrepreneurs like Mark give back to the community. They write about their experience and the belief system that motivated them to become a startup entrepreneur.
Although it turns out, on this issue, Mark is wrong.
And for the record, I’m not the only one who thinks Mark is wrong about a few things. I guess that’s what happens when you are an outspoken and successful target entrepreneur turned VC.
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