The problems and challenges in this world are really big. If we have any chance of leaving a better world for our children, we better get busy solving them. Entrepreneurs are people who don’t just have good ideas, they are people who go out into the world and start doing something about them. It’s not always about knowing what the final solution looks like, having a bullet proof plan or waiting for the right moment in your life to take a chance. Unfortunately, it simply doesn’t work this way. If anything, the problem often chooses the individual. If they are listening, whatever the circumstances, it will be difficult for them to turn the challenge away.
Believing in a better way is where it starts. And when the world is against you, and everyone says it’s better to keep on walking, you know your heading in the right direction.
Many entrepreneurs we speak to get frustrated by the startup process. Sometimes expectations are too high. Other times they simply are not getting the support they need. Many ask, ‘Where is the love? Where is the support I need to take the next step? I’m here working on this problem everyday. Isn’t it time I got some help?’ Again, this isn’t always the way it works. The bigger the challenge the harder it is to convince people. The messier the space in which you operate the more risk averse your partners. It takes courage and perseverance to be an entrepreneur. Even then, the chances of survival remain slim.
What makes the difference?
….Traction. A powerpoint presentation and an idea don’t get you very far these days. You have to show the world you have taken more than the leap of faith. Really complex problems are not easy to understand. If anything, going into the marketplace will show an entrepreneur how complex a problem actually is. Ideas have to be tested and only with feedback can they change and get smarter over time. Until you find traction as an entrepreneur your solution hasn’t really been validated. Until you find your fit in the marketplace the chances of finding partners to support you remain few.
The most you can do is to go out there and be an entrepreneur. Bring your idea to the world. Either people will notice early and move to support you along the way, or they will realize later when you have changed the world around them.