disagreed and preached more of a balanced approach to life. I believe that the most important factor in the success of both your startup and your relationships is communication.
Golfers and founders spend most of their time at the “office.” Relationships can survive, but only if this reality is made abundantly clear to a spouse from the outset AND he/she is on board throughout. Beyond time, startups often rob their founders of financial security, arguably the number one reason for divorce . The point: if you have a spouse when you launch a venture, you better get him or her on board for a long, expensive haul. A spouse can be a huge factor in a founder’s success or failure, and certainly a vital influence on his or her happiness.
Golf can best be defined as an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle. (Unknown)
There may be no better parallel between starting a company and playing golf. Much of golf is frustration. Most shots do not meet your expectations. Even pros will tell you that they hit only 2 or 3 great shots per round.
Startups are much the same way. Potential clients almost always say “no.” Potential investors seem to know no other word. Those who agree to buy or invest take forever to commit. And then a miracle happens. A key question: Can you (the founder) glean enough satisfaction from those miracles to compensate for the all of the tragedy?
There are no pictures on scorecards. (Unknown)
My twin sister, a golf orphan for most of her life who recently caught the bug, always loved this one. She would get a lucky bounce or ground one up the middle of the fairway, turn to me with a big smile on her face and proclaim: “There are pictures on scorecards.” In other words, only the final result matters.
The inner workings of most companies are ugly, and startups can be downright brutal. Emotions run high and rational procedures are few and far between. But there is no video camera inside the office. What matters is what your company can produce. Can you produce something a client wants? Can you raise the money you need? These are the only numbers that are written on the score card. The emotion will die down and the procedure will creep its way in, but only if you can put some birdies on the card early in the round.
At the end of the day, passion is the only certain prerequisite for success in entrepreneurship. Is your passion enough to attract others? Is it enough to overcome the financial and personal challenges? If so, you may want to put your clubs in the garage and pursue your business. After all, your odds of becoming the next Tiger Woods are likely smaller than becoming the next Jeff Bezos, or Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs, or…