Pivot
I'd think about that word seriously, as I read startup stories mentioning the word pivot. What exactly are they talking about? Then the paragraphs that would follow always lead into a direction the company needed to go, to "stay alive".
I'm Kind Of An Extremist
I took a pivot, right into building a new startup. No, I didn't do a pivot to make DigiThin a success or save it, surly I could have, if I wanted to. It's not that I quit DigiThin. It's not like, I had to let go of all the employee's, as there were only one, me. It's not that I had to disappoint any investors, I had none of those either. I didn't shut the doors down on it, because I can sort of push it slowly on the side if I want to. At least for the next year.
The hard thing getting to the point of the pivot, meant accepting failure of DigiThin. Failure has it's own kind of power, it's ruthless in how it torments a person's soul.
One Day I Had A Bit Of Luck
My startup thinking mind, announced a new startup I should build. It did it slowly over a few weeks time. The whispers rolled in like, a slow ocean. Hitting my thoughts with just enough to tease me into thinking about something else. Yeah, that's the thoughts a great entrepreneur should listen to. But, I'm no great entrepreneur. Yet I had enough sense in me to acknowledge it.
As it played with my mind, tempting me to follow it. I thought about what I had to give up. What I had to walk away from.
Disappointing family and friends who believed in me and my idea. The 55K or more I spent out of my families personal savings. This hurt me like a broken heart in a romance. I kept playing the tapes over and over about how that cash could have paid for my kids college. I kept thinking, I can't walk away from DigiThin now, just at the point I finally figured out how to get traction.
My Answer Was Always In Me
Yeah, I burned a ton of cash that could have done other things. I also gave myself an education worth more than the price of an education.
Just as the teasing thoughts tempted me, in a slow but quick way. I jumped onto the other boat. I can honestly say, it's the most amazing freeing feeling, I've had in two years. I'm loving my new startup. It's like AMAZING times liquidation preference 1.5X!
Yet, I'm in this weird half the weight on my shoulders, and half the weight off area. At times, I'm so free to create, then other times I'm burdened down by the startup I have to let go. Truly it's like saying good bye to a lover when you know the relationship is over, yet the talks to stay together go on.
Ahh, The Majesty Of My New Love Is So Grand
My new startup is not limited to a certain market. It's a product for every person, every race, every culture, everyone! Hmmm, to me this means something pretty special, it's HUMANITY. It's all of us. That's why those whispers in my head are something I cannot turn away from. It's a product for each and every person, young and old. How can I not chase it? How can I not create it? To turn away from it, would be like turning away from mankind. It would be like saying I don't care about you, when I do.
I have no more family cash to put into my new startup. It won't matter. I've learned so much from building DigiThin, that I know if this new startup wants to live, the whispers in my mind, the skills I learned, the people I've met, the mistakes I've made, the hope in my heart, the path I've followed, will all come together to build one of the greatest gifts for humanity.
I'm listening to the whispers......
I'm chasing my new startup.......
I'm seeking this gift for humanity......
* I wrote this after being awake 27 hours. Hope it's good : - /
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