Why You Shouldn't Go All-In on a Startup (do this instead)
I used to think entrepreneurship meant building rocketship startups.
Anything less wasn’t worth aiming for.
So when I quit my job, I tried copying the tech giants. 🚀
Except I failed miserably, and wasted years of my life trying to build unicorn startups.
It was around that time I tried a different approach that I learned from a class by entrepreneur Daniel Vassallo.
In the class, he advocated a “portfolio” approach to entrepreneurship.
Rather than trying to go all-in on a startup, he argued it was better to take smaller bets on many projects instead.
Timeboxing any projects we take on to smaller 1 month "bets" limits our potential downside if it fails.
And only when there’s a signal of success do we commit more time.
I now often advise founders it may be more prudent to take this type of portfolio approach than to aim for venture scale startups.
Venture scale startups are a game that 99% of people (including me) aren’t meant to play.
In the article link below, I discuss why founders should consider a portfolio approach to entrepreneurship as opposed to going all-in on a single startup.
Article highlights include:
- Why entrepreneurship is like a video game with "levels"
- The role of randomness in business
- Smaller bets new entrepreneurs should try instead of starting VC-scale startups
Link: https://michaellin.substack.com/p/my-review-of-daniel-vassallos-class
Interesting take on how to be a founder. As with all things, there are multiple approaches for different people in different contexts. Also, good pitch for the course where you picked up this idea.
When I actually begin to do something instead of lurking and reading blog posts about doing something, I might give it a shot.
Thanks for sharing!
Interesting how you see some entrepreneur or author or guru say that one way is the way to go.
While another entrepreneur or author or guru will say that way is the exact opposite of the way to go.
Like Niche slapping.
Couldn't agree more. Timeboxed bets with clear goals and milestones forces discipline, rapid learning, and makes it easier to drop the idea. I have seen too many ideas go on for too long. And it gets worse if you end up getting funding. Then something you should have dropped in 2 months has to be continued for 2 years!