The other day at the bar, I was asked what does it mean to be an Entrepreneur.
It is a very valid question, not frequently asked though.
What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?
Words like Entrepreneurship, Startups etc. have become synonymous with building things, making money, creating impact, changing the world and what not. In this, the concept of individual is lost. Who cares what do you feel like while building a company, if you make it worthwhile for the rest of us?
There is also this other contrasting view portraying a rosy picture, which is equally misleading.
Oh you are an Entrepreneur? You can do what you want!
NO, YOU CANNOT DO whatever you want! Building a business is about what the rest of the world wants. Which means you cannot just spend your time doing whatever your heart takes you through. You need to channel it towards how you can create value for others.
So what does it really mean to be an Entrepreneur?
In one word, it’s a Brain-wreck.
We take the value of Entrepreneurship as granted. If something can change the world and make money at the same time, it can’t be that bad right?
23 things every Entrepreneur must know.
10 things everyone should know before becoming an Entrepreneur.
Blah blah.
It’s like the value of Entrepreneurship is a given. Now it’s all about how you can become an Entrepreneur and create value for everyone in the world. Doesn’t matter what you give up in the due course. All it matters is whether you have a goal and whether you achieve it and can you make sure the entire world knows about it!
The problem with mainstream conversations on Entrepreneurship is that there is very less documentation on the toll it takes on the individual. The desires, the hopes, the dreams, the laments, the disappointments, the ambiguities, the confusions, the loneliness, the feeling of unwanted, the fear of unknown, the isolation, the groping in the darkness — these all get omitted conveniently.
But if you have lived as an Entrepreneur even for a day, you would know these are the demons you have to live with. You could be the best Entrepreneur in the world, but still you have to go through and live with it. You might get better in handling it. Or not. But it is part of your life.
Is the end result worth all this? Considering that only 1 out of 10 startups ever see the light at the end of the tunnel, this is a very personal question to answer.
I am not talking about Entrepreneurs who “made it”. I am talking about the other 99%. Because these are the people who never get asked “how you feel about” type of questions. Even the CEO’s you see in your tabloids and daily feeds who look cool, only they know what all demons they face every single day. Ben Horowitz gives you a detailed horror picture of startup life in The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
Brain-wreck is real. It is serious. It screws up your mind in ways you can’t explain. You could change as a person. You could stop caring about things that was really important to you.
Yes, you could come out of all this as more powerful and successful as ever. It is possible. It is also possible that you come out of it broken and wounded and depressed.
And it’s high time we talk about it too, because who knows how many brilliant minds out there are lost on a every day basis to Entrepreneurship?
If you can relate to this story, please do comment. Together we can make the world a better place.
I am a story teller obsessed with human behavior, technology, and future.
I don different hats — Product Builder, Growth Strategist, Consumer Researcher, Speaker.
You can reach me here or on twitter for help with building products, growth strategies, sharing stories and creating value.
