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I <3 this essay. "Fake it 'til you make it" seems to be the m.o. in a lot of entrepreneurial circles. I've honestly never known if this is actually a good strat

I <3 this essay. "Fake it 'til you make it" seems to be the m.o. in a lot of entrepreneurial circles. I've honestly never known if this is actually a good strategy or not. It seems the answer is no.

billclerico 13y ago
IMHO "fake it til you make it" is sometimes necessary and sometimes it produces quick wins - but if you let it distract you from building authentic value then it is a net negative in the long term.
- relaxatorium 13y ago
  "Fake it 'till you make it" embeds the assumption that you are going to make it, which is a thing you need to constantly and actively work on doing. Otherwise, it's just faking it.
kevingibbon 13y ago
The real problem is that most people are not convincing during the "fake it" portion.
- jdh 13y ago
  I agree, but I think there's a bigger problem. I think first time entrepreneurs are prone to thinking that raising money is a win. Second time entrepreneurs almost never think that, they view it as an obligation. A lot of young, first time entrepreneurs, if you told them: you can with certainty raise a $5M Series A, but with certainty the business will not work in the end, which you will figure out in 3 years -- they would still raise the money. They have a burning desire to to be a CEO, to build something, and they'll worry about the rest later. In my view, raising money when you either have no idea if it's a good opportunity, or believe on early data that it's actually not (but you'll figure it out or pivot later), -- this is what I see in "fake it til you make it", "hustler" thinking -- is that when you're successful, you've now signed up to use some of the most productive years of your life chasing an opportunity that is likely not to be any good, when you could have held out for something better. Happiness research indicates that people are consistently wrong about what's going to make them happy (or sad) -- the shiny new car will lift their spirits every time they get behind the wheel, but within a few weeks, it's just another car. I think this applies to fundraising as well: raising money for an idea you're not 100% convinced on has proven to tempt many founders, but in my experience, they later come to regret it.
lumens 13y ago
Fake It Till You Make It is a fantastic strategy for some things, utter disaster for others. There is no panacea in startups, but don't discount the colloquialism as devoid of value, either.

I <3 this essay. "Fake it 'til you make it" seems to be the m.o. in a lot of entrepreneurial circles. I've honestly never known if this is actually a good strategy or not. It seems the answer is no.

billclerico 13y ago

IMHO "fake it til you make it" is sometimes necessary and sometimes it produces quick wins - but if you let it distract you from building authentic value then it is a net negative in the long term.

relaxatorium 13y ago
"Fake it 'till you make it" embeds the assumption that you are going to make it, which is a thing you need to constantly and actively work on doing. Otherwise, it's just faking it.

kevingibbon 13y ago

The real problem is that most people are not convincing during the "fake it" portion.

jdh 13y ago
I agree, but I think there's a bigger problem. I think first time entrepreneurs are prone to thinking that raising money is a win. Second time entrepreneurs almost never think that, they view it as an obligation. A lot of young, first time entrepreneurs, if you told them: you can with certainty raise a $5M Series A, but with certainty the business will not work in the end, which you will figure out in 3 years -- they would still raise the money. They have a burning desire to to be a CEO, to build something, and they'll worry about the rest later. In my view, raising money when you either have no idea if it's a good opportunity, or believe on early data that it's actually not (but you'll figure it out or pivot later), -- this is what I see in "fake it til you make it", "hustler" thinking -- is that when you're successful, you've now signed up to use some of the most productive years of your life chasing an opportunity that is likely not to be any good, when you could have held out for something better. Happiness research indicates that people are consistently wrong about what's going to make them happy (or sad) -- the shiny new car will lift their spirits every time they get behind the wheel, but within a few weeks, it's just another car. I think this applies to fundraising as well: raising money for an idea you're not 100% convinced on has proven to tempt many founders, but in my experience, they later come to regret it.

lumens 13y ago

Fake It Till You Make It is a fantastic strategy for some things, utter disaster for others. There is no panacea in startups, but don't discount the colloquialism as devoid of value, either.