Launching a startup is like strapping your butt to a rocket, aiming for a star, and bang off you go... all the while knowing you don't have enough fuel to get you even halfway where you want to go. The trick is to find fuel in space, refuel while suspended in midair, and do it multiple times. If you don't, you will stand still, then fall.
This is the straightforward part. Now comes the catch. Just not standing still does not cut it. You need to run as fast as you possibly can and then accelerate. In order to accelerate, you will need money and lots of it. Yet, in order to raise money, you will first need to... Yes, you guessed it - ACCELERATE.
This is where the art and science of accelerating into a wall come into play. The science is knowing when you should throttle back to reduce burn and extend runway and when it is time to accelerate into the wall with a big grin, trading runway for speed.
So far for the science part. The art is where you are expected to radiate confidence while stepping on it. It’s the practice of watching the wall grow ever bigger with a big smile on your face… Just so you can raise money and do it all over again!
By the way, if you got the science part wrong and you should have cruised rather than accelerated… you may find comfort in the fact that it will all be over rather quickly. They say the last thing that passes through a fly's head when smashing into a car’s windshield at high speed is his own A$$hole… a nice little something to think about while accelerating into the wall with your hand steady on the wheel.
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