“A startup that is corrupt at its core cannot be repaired.” PayPal co-founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel repeated this insight so often that friends called it “Thiel’s Law”. You can give an SUV a brutal shape by wrapping it with expensive equipment on all sides, but if it was born a “city boy”, it will never become the “king of the off-road”. The quality of the foundation defines, what you can build — a skyscraper or a mud hut. Some mistakes, like incest or jumping without a reserve parachute, cannot be compensated for later.
In a startup, of course, the main decision is who to build it with. I have had different experiences — from a successful business with the wrong partners to, on the contrary, an unsuccessful business with the right partners. Outside of the ideal, the latter is more to my liking. After all, the company is just one episode of many. Yes, we lost time and money together, but we gained good relationships for life. And with people with whom there is no value match, there is still no way to share or celebrate, much less repeat success. The only benefit here is a lesson in who you should (not) choose as a partner. And most importantly, why.
To think that I was just unlucky to meet a bad partner is naivety, victim psychology and infantilism. Of all the possible alternatives I, oops, for some reason chose specifically them and not others. So, some part of me was eager to realize this negative scenario. Even if the decision was made subconsciously, and I was surprised later. Taking responsibility for my own choices does not amnesty the malevolent actions of others, but it allows me to take control of my life to have a chance to ever change it.
It turns out that the most important startup is yourself. It is the cornerstone without which all business projects will falter or crumble into dust. Fortunately, you can always start fixing it. How about now?
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
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”Who are you and what do you do?"
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
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