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Ask yourself: was the startup a failure due to macroeconomic conditions or something else outside your control, or did it fail because of internal mistakes and

Ask yourself: was the startup a failure due to macroeconomic conditions or something else outside your control, or did it fail because of internal mistakes and lack of experience? I fear too many people get into the startup world and end up cosplaying as executives, when in reality they haven't put in the hard work to earn that position. If this feels uncomfortably close to home, I suggest focusing on a "normal" job in a corporate environment, and being humble about what your experience really counts for when it comes to levelling expectations.

ElevenLathe 4y ago
I would argue most executives everywhere are "cosplaying", but the ones at big stable companies have a huge headwind in that the company has already figured out how to make enough money to pay their inflated salary. Startup executives are in the business of figuring out how to make that happen, and I get the impression that most of that is just hard work and luck rather than any skill or experience. That said, there is probably soon to be lots less demand for "executives" that have only a little bizdev experience and a failed startup. If you are a good bullshitter you can maybe find another one and roll the dice again. More likely you will want to find a "boring" job and keep your head down for a while (if you can).
Brajeshwar 4y ago
I'm going to steal this lines. You have put things in a clear and concise words. "You cosplay long enough till you become a superhero."
- dustymcp 4y ago
  Or fake it till you make it..
j45 4y ago
The majority of funded founders are replaced for this reason of cosplaying a leader or not being able to prioritize learning it. I believe the number I heard read was over 90 percent.
yobbo 4y ago
Yes, but as a counter-point; how do you determine if someone is cosplaying? You seem to imply that there is some skill that makes startups a deterministic job, but it isn't. Everyone is cosplaying until they meet some challenge for which there is no script.
- Moissanite 4y ago
  I don't think it is deterministic - and the things which make someone a good CxO are obviously (to me, at least) not something which you can teach easily, otherwise MBAs wouldn't have such a shoddy reputation. It is more of a fusion of age (which implies experience, even if not a linear relationship) and diversity within the experiences a person has had. It's a continuum. The OP stated some limited amount of experience in bizdev right out of college, which doesn't qualify you for the role of dog-catcher as far as I'm concerned. The startup experience itself is probably worth 2-3x the equivalent years in that bizdev role, but still I'd say they are on the low end of the spectrum for someone I'd trust being in charge of a company. If they had a couple more years of corporate experience or another startup on the resume, it would be a different matter.

ElevenLathe 4y ago

I would argue most executives everywhere are "cosplaying", but the ones at big stable companies have a huge headwind in that the company has already figured out how to make enough money to pay their inflated salary. Startup executives are in the business of figuring out how to make that happen, and I get the impression that most of that is just hard work and luck rather than any skill or experience. That said, there is probably soon to be lots less demand for "executives" that have only a little bizdev experience and a failed startup. If you are a good bullshitter you can maybe find another one and roll the dice again. More likely you will want to find a "boring" job and keep your head down for a while (if you can).

Brajeshwar 4y ago

I'm going to steal this lines. You have put things in a clear and concise words. "You cosplay long enough till you become a superhero."

dustymcp 4y ago
Or fake it till you make it..

j45 4y ago

The majority of funded founders are replaced for this reason of cosplaying a leader or not being able to prioritize learning it. I believe the number I heard read was over 90 percent.

yobbo 4y ago

Yes, but as a counter-point; how do you determine if someone is cosplaying? You seem to imply that there is some skill that makes startups a deterministic job, but it isn't. Everyone is cosplaying until they meet some challenge for which there is no script.

Moissanite 4y ago
I don't think it is deterministic - and the things which make someone a good CxO are obviously (to me, at least) not something which you can teach easily, otherwise MBAs wouldn't have such a shoddy reputation. It is more of a fusion of age (which implies experience, even if not a linear relationship) and diversity within the experiences a person has had. It's a continuum. The OP stated some limited amount of experience in bizdev right out of college, which doesn't qualify you for the role of dog-catcher as far as I'm concerned. The startup experience itself is probably worth 2-3x the equivalent years in that bizdev role, but still I'd say they are on the low end of the spectrum for someone I'd trust being in charge of a company. If they had a couple more years of corporate experience or another startup on the resume, it would be a different matter.