Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Burning Bridges Means: Someones Blind

You know it's funny how people will so blindly burn a bridge. Yeah, go ahead, light it on fire, like an arsonist who thinks they are in control of an outcome neither side could predict.

It's a shame when someone burns a bridge and yet this happens often in the startup world. Someone has an idea and pushes it onto others in hopes of finding the right people to help them build the startup.

The others jump in and think, yeah this is a great idea I want to be a part of it, but then after sometime, maybe a year, they decide it's just not a good idea because they don't see any money flowing in from it. Yeah, they start thinking all kinds of negative thoughts. Pretty soon they have developed a full blown resentment about wasting all their time on someone else's idea. So they QUIT.

The quitting part is not easy and it flares up into all kinds of discombobulated weird actions and words. The founder is totally confused, the co-founder is spinning their head around like an Exorcist, what the fuck is happening?

Oh it's just the bridge burning, that's all.

I'm pretty sure there are many people out there who walked away from a great idea because they thought it was trash. They put some time in on it, and they could not hold on to being “patient” They could not stand the stand as long as the founder could.

You see success happens when you don't give up. Success happens when you take the stand, through all it's turmoils, including not making money. Building a startup to be successful is not easy. It's often a long drawn out road of pain and suffering, with no money, no hope, and no one who believes in you. Basically you have to be able to stand up to being ridiculed, tossed into the gutter like trash, laughed at, mocked, whispered about, humiliated, demoralized! Not many can withstand this. But I can.

A lot of people have burned the bridge with me and my startup. I'm sad about it. These people I saw as brilliant people with a potential to shine in the startup world. Some hung on for a bit, others for a while longer. Yet all of them have walked away from me. To the one who doesn't, you will be blessed.

Now VC and Angles and Incubators would all be saying “Oh see, she can't get anyone to help her, she is a lousy boss, or a horrible person to work with, she is a loser if she can't get a co-founder, she is a loser if she can't get others to help her, she is a loser if she can't get someone else to stand by her, her idea is stupid and worthless” Hmmmm, well they all walked away not because of me or my idea, but because they have no experience in building a startup. They did not know you have to work long endless hours with NO PAY. Not very many people can do that. Yet I told them all that. Still they want money.

Yeah it goes on and on, all the judgments against me. The bridge burners keep piling up. The incubators, VC's and Angels ignore me like I'm a piece of dirt on the floor. This is the life of building a startup. It's not pretty, but every step of it across the burning bridge, is one step towards success.

I know one thing – I'm going to be successful. And those who burned the bridge will be, well.............. sorry!

Effort + I know =I did it. But of course I would have rather had - We did it. Yet you burned your bridge.


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