The Power of Building Your Own Startup
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Success in the startup world often comes down to the paths we choose not to take, and the conviction to stay true to our vision when others question it. This story is about one of those moments that validated my entire entrepreneurial journey. A CEO friend of mine just shut down his startup after 12 years. He raised over $30m in VC, and the co-founders’ families put in $2m. In 2017, he tried to hire me, saying they’d “soon be worth $1B.” Here’s the full story. Table of Contents Conversation That Changed Everything The Outcome Lessons for Bootstrappers Conclusion Conversation That Changed Everything This was our conversation: CEO : You’re not ambitious enough. Me : What???? Why do you say that? CEO : It’s been 5 years, man. You’re wasting your life on your tiny startup. It’s not going anywhere. Me : Yeah, but it’s MY tiny startup. CEO : We’ll be worth a billion soon. A small part of my startup will be worth so much more than your large stake of yours… And you’ll have a bigger impact wor...