I believe a founder is someone inherently biased toward optimism, able to see the world as it is while embodying a deliberate amount of delusion. Before starting my company, I read that 90% of businesses fail within their first year. One would think that statistic would be discouraging. For me, it was a reminder of reality.
I knew I wasn’t an outlier, and I knew was far more likely to end up among the 90% than the 10% who succeed.
But that didn’t stop me. In fact, I chose to believe with conviction, that I would defy those odds. I intentionally masked my reality with a layer of delusion because if I approached my journey with the belief that failure was a 90% certainty, then failure would become a 100% certainty.
As a founder, you have to embrace the biased optimism that your idea, your vision, and the project you’re pouring yourself into will succeed, of course while staying grounded in reality.
That belief isn’t naive; it’s necessary.
Now, I’m writing this after my company closed it’s doors. I did in fact join the 90%. I have learned alot, and in a way I do not see these last 20 months as a failure, I see it as a neccesary step forward. The experience has been unforgettable, a massive roller-coaster and a period of time where I’ve pushed myself to things I thought I would never be able to achieve, and I’m grateful for the time.
In some way I feel like i’m collecting failures, and I'm not saying that in a discouring or negative tone. If you look at failure in a healthy way, I believe it can build inner confidence. During my time at disrupt22, I walked thorugh fire, and I have the confience to know I can do it again if situation requires it. If you succsed, was it just luck? Right time in the right place? I fundamentally believe that you learn most through failure, hopefully you know what you did wrong, and next time you know that you would do it differently with, confidence.