Passion and Patience

I spend a good deal of my time with entrepreneurs and start up business and one of the most common issues they battle with, is the balance of passion and patience. Personally, this is a tightrope I walk also. Sure, entrepreneurs by nature are not patient that’s why they’re entrepreneurs, I get it. However, in many cases especially during round raises and product iterations it’s a very useful skill to have.  After all, you can’t control what you can’t control and getting angry or frustrated because someone who you are relying on but isn’t reliant on you isn’t moving fast enough is misdirected effort. Start Up life is already hard, frustrating and stressful enough without compounding this with mismanaged impatience. Inevitably investors will tell you a mix of what you do and do not what to hear, that comes with the territory, you can win and lose in same meeting, it can be that fickle.  I’m certainly not saying “be a passenger” in your dealings with people, that will do you no favors. What I am saying is, be hungry, be very hungry and relentlessly passionate about what you’re doing, just not at the expense of your business, team, family and mental health. After all, the decision you make have repercussions for everyone within your world.