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My argument here is simply that the people who make it are the ones who go through those struggles and keep fighting. I promise you there were a few occasions
by zbruhnke 14y ago
My argument here is simply that the people who make it are the ones who go through those struggles and keep fighting.
I promise you there were a few occasions in my life where I had to choose between toilet paper and toothpaste. My employees had no idea how bad I was struggling and had I ever let it on they probably would have jumped ship. I found a way to make it through those stuggles where most people would have quit.
It's easy for people to say "Life's easier when you dont have to worry about paying off debt etc." what most of those people forget is that the ones of us who dont have those worries now probably had them just as bad or worse than you can imagine at some point.
The media loves to talk about the rosy side of startups but they never print the article talking about the guys with stories like mine.
At one point I literally took a job selling cars on the weekend just to be able to keep paying my employees and losing money on my business. Everyone I knew told me to quit, but I was just young enough and just dumb enough that I wouldn't. I believed in myself, my company and my employees too much to just give up.
If I had listened to my friends and parents I would have quit, finished school and got a job in the rat race worrying about paying off those student loans.
Instead I got it profitable and ended up selling the company.
Unlike the poster below thinks though I don't have 40 free hours a week these days. I am working to build the next big thing because this is in my blood, its what I love to do and I'll be damned if money (in any direction) is going to be a factor in making my life turn out the way I want.
- pavel_lishin 14y ago> My argument here is simply that the people who make it are the ones who go through those struggles and keep fighting. Or the ones who get lucky. > <personal anecdote> I'm really glad things worked out for you. But it's still a personal anecdote. (On the gripping hand, I fully admit that I do not have your drive, and I would have failed where you succeeded; so maybe there's something to it after all. How much did luck play in your success?)
- zbruhnke 14y ago>> How much did luck play in your success? I'd say in my case, as with most anyone's I was very lucky and we all have to be to have a story like mine, but I am still a firm believer in great people making their own luck. Call me crazy if you like, its just how I feel. I didn't grow up with money, I didn't go to the nicest schools or have the best teachers but I had a ton of drive and the will to succeed.
- danssig 14y ago>Unlike the poster below thinks though I don't have 40 free hours a week these days. I am working to build the next big thing because this is in my blood, I suspect this is what the poster below meant by having 40 free hours a week. If someone handed me a billion dollars I would probably take a bit more vacation than now, but quite working? No way! I have a million ideas. I'd like to do as many as possible in the time I have.