Saying no to MIT - beware of the people who are hinting "You are not enough"

Sorry about the clickbaity title. The MIT I am referring to is an entrepreneurship program by MIT. I am not a drop out of MIT, the prestigious school.

But I have a story related to it that had a pretty big influence on me in the last 18 months.

At the beginning of 2019, I was preparing to kick-off my entrepreneurship journey. I'd prepared for the journey for the past 12 years by then, possibly even longer. There were still a lot of things I "knew" but didn't really understand. But mentally, I am ready to start.

I started to go to events to talk to people about my ideas and hearing their feedback. One night, I met one of the people from the MIT Entrepreneurship program. The event is a few minutes of walk from the campus. They suggested me to take a look at their program because their goal was to help founders like me get started the "smart" way. Sounds good. You can never be overprepared anyways.

But after I read the program details, I felt bad somehow. I get a feeling that I should take their paid program to start my own business or I am not "smart".

The way they pitched their program made my egoistic self uncomfortable. "I've been preparing for the last 12 years for this journey, and you, without knowing who I am, suggest I should wait for a few extra months to re-learn the lessons I watched for free on YCombinator?"

In that instant, I realized not all advice is equal. As an educator, MIT primarily cares about if you're learning it from them, not what's best for you. They wouldn't even mention you can learn by doing as well. And worst of all, they tried to make me feel "I am not enough" with the language. Because when I feel vulnerable, I'd pay them the money to buy the confidence.

Essentially they are saying "Wait till you're more ready to get started". But we all know, you can never be 100% ready for startups.

Same with contractors and lawyers, who often appear to be on your side but don't care if you're successful or not as long as they get paid.

Since then, I've carefully examined incoming proposals based on their intention. If the proposals are not mutually beneficial but aim to persuade using my fears or vanity, I'd reject them, as opposed to welcoming everyone who says "I am here to help".

We're hustlers. We are effing enough.