Is being an entrepreneur really a viable option? It is essentially cultural dogma that the only viable option is to go to college, get good grades, and become a doctor, lawyer, or some other respectable professional
July 17, 2013 Leave a comment
Is being an entrepreneur really a viable option?
BY FRANCISCO DAO
ON JULY 16, 2013
Following last week’s post about the importance of establishing entrepreneurship as a self fulfillingcultural norm, several people asked me what I thought was the key to jump starting this process. As I thought about the belief system of entrepreneurs vs. non-entrepreneurs, I remembered a conversation I had with an old roommate that perfectly captured the difference. In 2000, I was starting a new company and trying to raise some angel money. One Saturday afternoon, my roommate “Joe” asked me what I had planned for the day and I told him I had to work on my business plan. He said to me, “I don’t understand. Why do you work on this stuff? It’s not like you get anything out of it.” For Joe, launching a business was simply not a viable possibility. In his mind, I may as well have told him I was training to be the quarterback of the 49ers or some other unattainable pipe dream. More than anything, the belief that starting a company is a viable option is what separates entrepreneurs from non-entrepreneurs. Most people simply aren’t taught to think this way and don’t have accessible role models to show them the possibilities. It is essentially cultural dogma that the only viable option is to go to college, get good grades, and become a doctor, lawyer, or some other respectable professional. How many of you have had to explain to your parents why you were leaving your viable career in order to pursue what they viewed as the nonviable path of entrepreneurship? More than a few, I’m sure. Read more of this post















