Life in School and Startup

Like all birds do, I’ve jumped from my branch. Gone is the safety of my nest, the food of my mother, the cover of the foliage. I’m falling, ever faster and these feathery things on my sides feel so awkward. But the ground definitely isn’t getting farther and I’ve got to do something quick. It’s sink or swim and the operators manual is a figment of my fantasy.  Fly or die trying.

And such is the life of a young entrepreneur. I feel like I’ve jumped from my perch and it’s up to me to either fly or hit the ground like a rock. There’s no one to catch me, I’ll have to find my own way. After much pontificating (as Scott would say) come to realize my path to success is going to be written in “enough planning, it’s time to do“. When you’re in college it’s easy to kick around ideas and half-heartedly plan things out, but when it comes time to turn that “market research” item on your to do list into actual numbers, you’ve reached your first gut check of entrepreneurship. No matter how many million-dollar idea you have drawn out on the proverbial napkin, you will never make a name for yourself unless you start to execute.

College entrepreneurs are frequently faced with challenges that they have no idea how to tackle. Therein lies the source of inaction for many college entrepreneurs. When met with brick walls the easy thing to do is quit. The reason an inexperienced entrepreneur has to scale so many walls is that there are so many roadblocks along the way where the solution to passing them isn’t taught in school. There are currently four points of research on my to do list that I have  no idea how to begin. I wish experienced entrepreneurs were more available (and maybe they are) for guidance  on some of these things. But then again, maybe it’s good that we’re forced this first time to carve our own path. Creating a successful start up in college while having limited prior work experience is life’s ultimate “weed out course” and is nothing short of a miracle.

So to recap, the most important thing for college entrepreneurs to learn is the power of just doing. At some point you have to stop talking about it and be about it. If you try flapping your wings without planning you might just escape the fall, but if you plan out the best method for flapping all the way down, you’re sure to be an easy meal.