How many times have you made an investment of $0 and had a massive return?
Well, never.
This probably has never happened.
Okay, maybe 1 in a million?
So you’re telling me there’s a chance?
How can we expect big results, big businesses, and big outcomes from people when we don’t show our expectations through catering to their priorities?
As much as we entrepreneurs would like to think we fall outside the box.
We like to think we are different.
A different breed of people.
Aliens from another universe.
The truth is, we fall prey to the same biological programming as our earthling counterparts.
Incentives.
We are susceptible to incentives too.
Our priorities may be different, sure.
But our incentives are the same.
Entrepreneurs are in it for the long term.
We leave the cushy W-2 world and opt for a different life.
One usually with no benefits.
And if there are benefits, guess who’s paying for them?
A small salary, if you’re lucky.
Mostly solo, self-dictated work.
Back to our conversation about kissing the feeling of accomplishment goodbye.
But holy moly.
The upside.
The percentages on the cap table.
It’s all just numbers.
But we trade the high W-2 in.
And, in exchange, get a high % on an excel spreadsheet.
We all respond to incentives.
But our priorities and preferences are different.
This calls to question whether we entrepreneurs make the mistake of focusing on incentives and not priorities.
Is it possible the priorities of your co-founders are different than yours?
You are all entrepreneurs though, so they should be the same priorities right?
Wrong.
But Seth, how do you know?
Because I make these mistakes and learn the hard way.
Then I sit down in a hotel lobby and write about them.
Why?
I don’t know. I just do it.
Yes but why do you do it?
Same reason people do most things.
Because it feels good.
Because I like it.
Because it feels natural.
Your co-founders have the same incentives as you.
Whether that be making money or contributing to this world, for example.
However, they do NOT have the same priorities as you.
One of them wants cash in the door ASAP.
One of them wants flexibility in their work schedule.
The other is still trying to pay down school debt.
One of them just wants out of their day job.
Most adolescent entrepreneurs (age in entrepreneurship not age in years) think they are in the business of business.
They create cool stuff and sell it to people.
It’s all systems and numbers.
You’d be right in thinking that.
But you’d be 100% wrong.
You’d be wrong because entrepreneurs are in the people business.
Businesses don’t buy widgets.
People do.
Businesses don’t sign up for subscriptions.
People do.
Businesses don’t buy other businesses.
People do.
Businesses don’t grow their own business.
People do.
Businesses don’t hire 1,000 people in a year.
People do.
Businesses aren’t businesses.
People are businesses.
But I work in tech and it’s different for me!
Is it?
How many employees does Facebook have?
Google have?
Uber have?
Airbnb have?
Amazon have?
We are in the people business, people.
It’s best we start pulling our heads out of our asses and start operating with that in mind.
And I’m talking about pulling my own head out of my own [you know].
I’m not calling you out.
But chances are, you’ve been there too.
Unless you’re the greatest entrepreneur ever and have never made mistakes.
And if that’s the case, you’re reading the wrong blog post right now.
You should be sipping a skinny margarita on your island watching the waves crash into the beach.
But for the rest of us, know you’re not alone.
Life kinda feels like a game sometimes doesn’t it?
Like a simulation?
Uh oh, here we go.
No, I’m not going there today.
Maybe one day.
It’s a game of levers and pulleys.
Entrepreneurship is like being on a sailboat in a hurricane.
It’s pouring rain and you’re facing 100+ foot waves.
Your team is soaking wet.
Can’t see a thing.
Trying to fix the mast.
You’re running around.
Trying to help your team.
Coach them.
Fix the boat.
Steer the boat.
Pray to God you’ll survive.
You can come up with cool ideas and get a MVP out there till the cows come home.
But until you start to take seriously the idea that building businesses is more about people than it is about business, you’re never going to scale in a meaningful way.
We are in the business of people.
Not the business of business.
I share this because I didn’t really understand this distinction until last week when someone metaphorically reached across the conference table and slapped me open-handed as hard as they could.
Shout out to you, Jacob J.
I guess what I am really trying to say is this.
If you’re getting into entrepreneurship because you think you can sit alone in a room and build cool stuff and change the world, you’re wrong.
I fell prey to the misunderstanding too.
So don’t be so hard on yourself.
Entrepreneurs must be people experts.
People are your customers.
People are your investors.
People are your employees.
People are your business partners.
People are your fans.
People are your tech support.
People are your business.
And you are in the business of people.
Find out what the priorities of all the above people are and meet those priorities.
If you can do that.
You will have happy, motivated customers.
Happy, motivated employees.
Happy, motivated investors.
Happy, motivated business partners.
Happy, motivated trade partners.
Happy, motivated fans.
And once you have that.
You may even end up with a happy, motivated buyer.
And once you have that.
You may even end up with an island of your own.
And once you have that.
You’ll hopefully be a happy, motivated person wanting to go do it all over again.