All she wrote
Building an impactful company takes time. Combine patience with urgency and watch the seeds blossom.
Whenever I write these, I always try to find a track or sequence of tracks that give me a "vibe." Something that puts me into a zone of focus to get one idea out in 15 minutes.
To be frank, keeping it down to 15min (and five minutes of editing) is the only way this could be possibly sustainable. For today's sessions, the song is "All She Wrote" by Justin Bieber. It's poignant and hits on some of the points that I find myself considering as we continue pushing forward the mission at KnowCap.
Today I went to a funeral for an Aunt of mine. I consider death quite frequently. With what we're doing there is no question that I will not live long enough to see the impact that I desire. It's humbling to know that what you have determined is your life's work, you will not even get to see the fruits of your labor. It makes rejection and a lot of other things that happen day-to-day seem small.
Investors ignore me, well they'll come around either now or 15 years from now (either that or they won't be around, because we will). This long-term thinking allows us to be comfortable where we are and yet still execute with precision and speed. After all, I want to see some of these planted seeds blossom.
This is something that I encourage founders who have trouble with the early stages of venture building. It is a long game and there are zero shortcuts for the work needed. Yes, you may get a "break", but think of those like the boosters in the video game Mario Kart. They help you move faster, but only for a short amount of time...and you still have to complete the race.
When you think about the work you do, put it into the context of life and death. Obviously, you need to make enough to survive and provide for your loved ones, but are you approaching each day with renewed energy to solve a problem you care about? To me, this is what entrepreneurship is all about. Viewing life through the prism of helping others live life.
It's why I encourage entrepreneurs to choose a problem they actually want to solve. The grueling nature of running a company leaves much to be desired, but if you have the ability to keep a long-term view, the roller coaster gets much easier to stomach.