In Stallone's case, persistence led to a great product that he eventually sold. If you already have a great product, persistence may be a signal to customers o

In Stallone's case, persistence led to a great product that he eventually sold. If you already have a great product, persistence may be a signal to customers or investors that you are serious. If you haven't built anything before or have only been at it for a little while, people simply won't believe you -- and why should they? How can you prove that you are serious about your venture? The persistence is sometimes about patience. My grandmother tells me frequently, "Every business man I know says it took him 5 years to build his business." It takes 5 years, because anything less than that isn't significant in the minds of customers. You need a track record. You need to prove your belief in yourself through your commitment to your ideas. If you can't convince yourself that your idea is great, why should someone else believe it is great enough to buy and trust to exist for another year or two? If it's existed for 5 years, it'll probably exist another one year, then two more and eventually, it's just always around. Of course this doesn't matter as much for a simple product that you buy and go, but with enterprise products or products where the customer is establishing a relationship with you, it's important to prove the stability and viability of that relationship.