3 ms·
> I experienced this myself when running my first company. We had been bootstrapping for a year when a competitor entered the space and raised $10 million. Thi
by gnicholas 4y ago
> I experienced this myself when running my first company. We had been bootstrapping for a year when a competitor entered the space and raised $10 million.
This brought up a lot of insecurity....Comparing myself to them, I felt like an outsider—like we were missing something or approaching the business wrong.
I can see how status would be at play here, but if I were a founder whose market had just been crashed by a competitor that raised a ton more money, I'd mostly be worried. Even if I thought I was smart for taking a bootstrapped approach, I'd be concerned that having a well-funded competitor would make life much harder.
- hodgesrm 4y ago> I'd be concerned that having a well-funded competitor would make life much harder. That's certainly true for things that you can buy with a lot of money, such as marketing. On the other hand, having such a competitor forces you to think really hard about how to help customers and what makes your company different.
- gnicholas 4y agoYes, and having a competitor can also help draw attention to a sector. But I would say my primary feeling about the situation would not involve status. It would involve increased competition and strategic disadvantages.
- hodgesrm 4y agoNo argument there. My goal is to maximize interests of customers, employees, investors, and my own family. That's enough without worrying about somebody else's notions of status. As Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennett said to Lady de Bourgh, "I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me." [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice