Three Jedi Mind Tricks Against The Entrepreneurial Struggle
How to Stay Sane as a First-Time Founder When Things Go Wrong
Sunglasses
So, we had just closed our first round of funding when my key employee quits. I had sold the investors on that employee's skills, and everything was horrible. I felt like a faker, and our company would never work despite the funding! That night I slowly walked to the bus with my head down and spirit even lower. I felt numb and hurt. But we found a replacement within weeks, and nobody really cared.
Three years later, I am at this conference in Manila, and we go to a bar. Those Philipinos can drink, I tell you! I had just bought new sunglasses, put them in a bag and leave it in a corner. The next hangover morning, I wake up smelling like gin and tonic receive two bad news. My COO tells me the replacement employee (who was now even more key!) had just quit. Also, somehow, I had forgotten my bag and new sunglasses at the bar.
I was really pissed. How could I be so stupid to lose my new sunglasses? I didn’t think much about the employee quitting. It all seemed like ‘just another one of those.’ Having been through the experience, I realized it was fixable.
