Amid our conversation, one of my students—whom I will call Ethan—extended his smartphone towards me, eager to share evidence of his latest academic achievement. The soft glow of the screen illuminated the room as he unfolded the intricate tale of his journey. The conversation took a poignant turn as he confided in me about the delicate financial situation haunting him due to poor business choices within his new venture, casting a lingering shadow of unease.
It became apparent that he had found himself caught in a complex web of debt, navigating through a seemingly inescapable path. His narrative unfolded with a desperate search for a glimmer of hope at the end of this overwhelming tunnel. Seated in the subdued atmosphere of one of our counselling rooms, designed for intimate conversations with students, I couldn’t help but marvel at his determination. He wasn’t merely a dreamer with aspirations of becoming an entrepreneur; he had already taken courageous strides to turn his dreams into reality. Yet, the path he had chosen revealed its challenges—a turn so wide that the prospect of reaching his destination unscathed seemed doubtful, one of those sharp bends that had momentarily thrown him off balance.
What was initially meant to be a brief encounter evolved into an extensive discussion spanning many hours. Together, we delved into the intricate details of the winding journey that led him to request this meeting. A myriad of questions unfolded, each thread weaving into the tapestry of his uncertainties, all converging into a pivotal inquiry: “What do you advise me to do?” The depth of this question, combined with my awareness of my limitations in offering immediate guidance to a young person seeking wisdom, lingered with me long after that encounter.
Learning on-the-go
It wasn’t until a serendipitous alignment with Global Entrepreneurship Week, the largest entrepreneurship event in the world with an educational twist, that I resolved to seek advice from experienced friends. One of them, Bill Morrow, a Scottish business angel, highlights the realistic inevitability of making mistakes: “You must get acquainted with making mistakes. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.” After all, “Mistakes are a good thing,” a sentiment echoed by David Bozward, a British serial entrepreneur, who views failure as an opportunity to learn: “Having failed and succeeded in entrepreneurship, it’s the failures I can honestly say provided me with the most valuable learning opportunities.”
Alessandro Ravanetti, a young entrepreneur based in Barcelona, contends that adopting a stoic approach to challenges is key. He encourages viewing challenges not as obstacles but as opportunities for growth and learning. Embracing the journey with all its uncertainties and fluctuating phases, he advises falling in love with each step, seeing each experience as a step towards growth.
You must get acquainted with making mistakes. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. (Bill Morrow)
However, as David Bozward emphasizes, it’s better to “fail small and fast.” It’s not merely a matter of “well-being,” as Alessandro Ravanetti would articulate. Indeed, the risk of being overwhelmed by too large a challenge is ever-present. This is why he prefers an approach dedicated to simplicity: “Approach your grand vision by breaking down complex tasks into smaller, manageable parts. Set achievable milestones to celebrate progress with your team. Employ a trial-and-error method for continuous improvement, allowing your business strategy to evolve and adapt effectively. This approach simplifies the entrepreneurial process and prevents you from getting bogged down in overplanning and overthinking.”
Reflecting on that encounter, a particular detail stands out vividly in my memory. Ethan dedicated his time to sketching in a notebook, page after page, contemplating potential exit strategies—an act bordering on overthinking. Indeed, what seemed lacking was the courage for genuine self-reflection, as if he subconsciously avoided the moment of truth due to its inherent pain. Yet, as conveyed by Bill Morrow, this is the key: “The essence of being a successful entrepreneur is to be crushingly honest with yourself.”
Choosing
In the realm of startups and SMEs, the narrative often fixates on successful cases, paying little attention to recounting the challenges encountered by entrepreneurs. Exceptions arise when the noise generated significantly surpasses the quiet growth of the overall forest. According to the World Bank, this silent majority represents about 90% of businesses and contributes to over 50% of employment worldwide. It’s crucial to note that the global startup economy creates nearly $7.6 trillion in value across more than 290 ecosystems. However, startups that face failure constitute a staggering 90%. The main obstacles to obtaining more diverse statistics are twofold: every startup serves as a hypothesis to be tested against the market, and there exist no one-size-fits-all recipes.
These two aspects alone configure a highly nuanced space for reflection. Certainly, as Alessandro Ravanetti emphasizes, it’s crucial to have a purpose. “Your entrepreneurial journey should be rooted in a clear sense of purpose. Understanding your ‘why’ provides not just direction and inspiration but also a compass for navigating through both successes and challenges.”
This doesn’t mean having all the answers an entrepreneur needs to move forward. As highlighted by Tom Britton, “As an entrepreneur, your job is not to know; it’s to find out. Too much time is spent early on thinking you know the answers instead of trying to find them.” Therefore, for him, it becomes essential to actively seek them. The guiding light in the night is the customer. “Spend the early days gaining an intimate knowledge of the customer before building your first product. Then never lose that connection with the customer. They’ll never lead you wrong, although your own beliefs of what they want may.”
As an entrepreneur, your job is not to know; it’s to find out. (Tom Britton)
This point reminded me of David Foster Wallace and his commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005, notoriously known as This is Water, where he discusses the challenge of paying attention to the reality around us, emphasizing the importance of looking beyond the egocentric perspective and making conscious choices about our perception of the world.
I liked, in particular, this passage: “(…) if you’re aware enough to give yourself a choice, you can choose to look differently at this fat, dead-eyed, over-made-up lady who just screamed at her kid in the checkout line. Maybe she’s not usually like this. Perhaps she’s been up three straight nights holding the hand of a husband dying of bone cancer. Or maybe this very lady is the low-wage clerk at the motor vehicle department who just yesterday helped your spouse resolve a horrific, infuriating, red-tape problem through some small act of bureaucratic kindness. Of course, none of this is likely, but it’s also not impossible. It just depends on what you want to consider. (…) if you really learn how to pay attention, then you will know there are other options.”
The theme of knowing to have other options was well unfolded by Anna Furmanov, an American entrepreneur, who decided to set aside to forge her path. During our conversation, she recalled: “When I started my company in 2020, I spoke to other marketing and business consultants so that I could understand things like pricing, projects, and how they got clients. I remember someone told me not to work with early-stage startups because they wouldn’t have the budget to work with me. Since 2020, I have more than doubled my hourly rate and I work with early-stage startups. Not everyone’s experience is the end-all game.” Long story short, she concluded, “Listen to people but be careful about what advice you decide to take. Make your decisions based on your gut and passions, and then see how your experience unfolds.”
If you really learn how to pay attention, then you will know there are other options. (David Foster Wallace)
Of course, this wouldn’t come easily. You need to possess a good dose of confidence, possibly provided by being good and knowledgeable about something specific would help: “I spent 11 years after undergrad working full-time in marketing and consulting, across big-name brands and small, high-growth startups. Now, as an entrepreneur, I’m a marketing consultant for early-stage tech startups. During my full-time career, I kept track of what I loved about all the different work experiences so that I could get clear on what I wanted to build once I (eventually) started my own thing. Working for someone else helps you get clearer about what you want and what you don’t want for your work-life fit.”
Moreover, as an entrepreneur, you will inevitably need to wear many hats. Embrace the discomfort. “You won’t know things, many things. You must learn to be comfortable with not knowing and embrace the discomfort of figuring things out, asking questions, and allowing others to assist you, even when you feel the pressure to know everything. After nearly four years of managing my own business, I still haven’t mastered everything”, she admits, “and fresh surprises and learning opportunities continually arise. I’ve prioritized some areas for learning while elevating the significance of others. This clarity will sharpen as you construct and discern what you love, what you detest, and what propels your company forward.”
Wisdom insights
I was about to enter the classroom that Friday, and I reminisced about one of my favourite films, The Big Kahuna, a 1999 comedy-drama. The story revolves around three characters: Larry Mann and Phil Cooper, seasoned marketers, and Bob Walker, a young researcher, all striving to secure a meeting with CEO Dick Fuller, known as the Big Kahuna.
Set in a Wichita hotel room during a trade convention, the film delves into themes of personal growth and genuine human connection as the characters navigate corporate interactions and grapple with the consequences of honesty and authenticity.
The movie concludes with an inspiring monologue on living consciously, learning from mistakes, and embracing life with positivity: “Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.” Trust me.
This blog post originally appeared in Coventry University’s Entrepreneurship blog.
Cover Image: Photo by Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash
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- Source: https://thisisoliver.co/2023/12/29/where-entrepreneurs-thrive/
