The Entrepreneur’s Solo Journey

May 17, 2024

Hard as it might be, the life of an entrepreneur is one that plays out alone. Entrepreneurship, no matter how tight that community may be, ultimately is an endeavor that one must come to terms with alone. I’ve come to this realization just recently. As some of my friends might know, I am currently in the process of launching a new business. It is a mixture of some of the things I have done in the past and some new. However, as I am struggling to make things work, it just hit me the other day—it is ultimately me against the world in this.

Why It Is Different Now

In all my prior experience as an entrepreneur, I faced challenges that ultimately I had to always face on my own. However, never before have I faced them all alone, I was never alone! Do not get me wrong on this.

I believe that being alone is sometimes very constructive and necessary, and on the other hand, the opposite is also true. Striking the right balance might be one of the best drivers for your personal and entrepreneurial development.

Nevertheless, the life of an entrepreneur is always, inexorably, to be alone. I realized this just recently because even as I was surrounded by a lot of pro entrepreneurs and businessmen with all the acumen that you can imagine and muster, at the end of the day, the thing I am working on is only in my head.

I came to this realization when I tried to explain to my girlfriend the workload ahead of the launch of my new venture. I was surprised that she was unable to see why I was so busy. Furthermore, when I tried to explain to a friend what I was doing, I was met with a blank stare.

What I’m trying to say is, it is not that they are unable to understand me, but rather, they were unable to put themselves in my shoes, and for the first time as an entrepreneur, I came to that realization.

“Start-ups are all-consuming. If you start a start-up, it will take over your life to a degree you cannot imagine. And if your start-up succeeds, it will take over your life for a long time: for several years at the very least, maybe for a decade, maybe for the rest of your working life.” – Paul Graham

Now having had that experience, I feel it is like flying. To someone who has never flown in an airplane, it is probably futile to try to explain what you feel on the plane. It is not that they are unable to understand you, why you flew and where you went, all that is fine. But to explain the feeling, the sensations you get there . . . that is a tougher sell.

Dealing with an Entrepreneur during Launch

I have to apologize to all my friends, family, and to my girlfriend for having been so busy and probably not so easy to reach.

After Acton I became far more conscious of how and where I invest my time. But being an entrepreneur during launch, it is something even harder because honestly, I can’t make someone else see what I see in the cockpit of the launch 3000 machine.

However, I do believe that any entrepreneur with a kick for what he’s doing (solving problems) is probably figuring out one of the following:

How to Fulfil his Client’s Needs

As an entrepreneur talks with clients to figure out what their problems are, and then figures out how to best serve them, the entrepreneur faces a litany of appointments that either take a long time or demand a lot of attention and commitment.

This is because an entrepreneur figuring out a client’s needs, has to meet and greet as many potential customers as humanly possible. This discovery phase is, therefore, very time-consuming and involved.

The more intense the need is to serve the customers, the more you can expect the entrepreneur to be alone in their hunger to find out how to best serve them. I would call this focus rather than single-mindedness.

The entrepreneurial mind will stop at nothing in its quest to meet as many people as possible and to grow his/her network.

At Acton we say that you ought to have at least 100 meetings with people in the industry, with a clear, concise framework to be able to get the information you need to be somewhat informed of what is needed in any industry.

So, now you’re either the entrepreneur doing this, or you’re the friend or family member that has to deal with the entrepreneur. To the entrepreneur: keep going!

To the family member: jump on the wagon, and if possible, try to ask about what kind of information the entrepreneur is gathering.

Go with him/her to meetings. Accompany the process. Offer help in reaching out people. Perhaps this way the entrepreneur will not be as lonely, and odds are you might like what he/she is doing.

Cooking? No, Bootstrapping Is More Like Building the Kitchen

Especially if you’re a seasoned entrepreneur, watching someone else bootstrapping a business into reality, the thought will probably go through your head that that is not how you would do it. Indeed, the entrepreneur has to face the challenge of making something out of nothing and there are many ways and turns to doing that.

Having a mentor at hand, I can attest that it is GREAT to have feedback from someone with experience to help guide my actions into something that is more actionable or immediate, that enables me to transition my entrepreneurial thoughts, hopes, and dreams into reality.

However, as great as my relationship with my mentor is, at the end of the day, they are my ideas, in my head that need to come to life. Some outside input helps A LOT, but the best we can hope for is for me to ask for help in the most articulate way possible, and for him to be as insightful as possible. That would be great if it were to happen all the time. But sometimes, for some things, it does not. When this happens, the entrepreneur is all alone again.

Therefore, an entrepreneur bootstrapping something or an entrepreneur building a business might need your help. Just any old help probably will not cut it, as the entrepreneur needs not only good advice (this comes with experience), but also, the entrepreneur needs someone to help keep momentum going, even if you don’t realize what the vision is yet.1

1 I am working on the assumption that the entrepreneur has gone through our Opportunity class at Acton, or even better, the whole business school program. Otherwise, you will also need to help him realize the error of his ways.

How to Manage Time around the Venture and the Social (Family)

The entrepreneur bootstrapping a business is a person under stress. HARD STRESS. Therefore, if you want to be helpful, how about offering your time on a really concise basis. Having a clearly defined goal for what the time together will be, as weird as this might sound, will be a godsend for the entrepreneur.

To family members and friends: the thing is that a person bootstrapping a business will be too busy to pay attention to the small details of the people around him. It’s best is to have a plan—nothing fancy—just having a clear goal for the time together might go a long way for a relationship.

For instance, having a date, having a meeting or a lunch with the idea of catching up, and actually catching up, works just fine. Just don’t be offended if the entrepreneur is too busy and has to go after two hours. This is normal.

To the entrepreneur: don’t be a diva! You’re not the center of the world! Also, getting your mind out of your project for like a day or two will work wonders for your mental health and relationships.

After all, your entrepreneurial endeavors are not the only thing in your life. Yes, some meetings might drag on, but being mindful of who you want to spend time with is key to a life of meaning! So, the better you take care of those important relationships, the less alone you will feel fighting the world.

Launch Is not Forever

Ultimately, launch is just a phase. As an entrepreneur, you’re probably alone now, and probably feel like only you understand yourself and the problem(s) you’re working on. That might be the case, but people around you want to see you succeed. Therefore, it is best if you make the effort to reach out and try to explain what you’re doing. N

ot only are you probably opening yourself to the opportunity of having someone make the effort to understand your dreams, but you’re also probably taking care of the relationships that help you get to your ultimate goal—having a successful and fulfilling life. Before you know it, you will trade the burning stress of launch for the struggle of growing-up, just like in your adolescent years.