#BetOnYourself. For me, this meant cashing in my savings (including my 401k) to pay my bills, and paying my mortgage on a credit card…so that I could run a start-up that had more debt than cash.
Building a company requires big-time risk.
The decision I made to take this risk happened for a few key reasons:
1. I know what I have to offer – I believe in my ability and if I say I’m going to do something, I’ll get it done.
2. The path to leadership is not an equal opportunity endeavor – I was unlikely to be promoted into leadership because I didn’t check the typical boxes.
3. I trusted myself to know this was a good idea – many years of struggle helped me hone my instinct for survival, which is the underpinning of success.
4. One of the founders was willing to do “whatever it takes” – we didn’t always agree, but we were in agreement on the commitment necessary to succeed.
There were challenges.
One of the founders flat-out said he would not work for a woman. Big stumbling block.
Financial decisions were made before I arrived that put us in debt right out of the gate.
One of the founders (same one) didn’t understand the risk of protecting the IP and a presentation he did led to creating an unnecessary competitor.
My unconventional background was viewed as a liability in the traditional business setting when, in fact, it was an asset.
Living out of my car, struggling to buy food and pay rent, and surviving unspeakable challenges prepared me to succeed as an entrepreneur.
No safety net = high level of motivation.
This is me presenting my company to the Capital Investors, a who’s who of the early internet boom. This was in the book The Dinner Club by Shannon Henry Kleiber.
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The Power of Showing Up
At 23, I was making $7/hour with no benefits. I didn’t even know what benefits were. I answered an ad
