| So basically you can't be successful as an entrepreneur unless you're a sociopath? That's a disappointingly cynical view. Some advice from someone who has also been in the trenches: First, you don't need to waste time thinking or complaining about angels and VCs when you start a business you can fund yourself. Second, if you're expecting growth to come easily and quickly, and you don't have the capital necessary to execute a realistic plan in a realistic amount of time, you're setting yourself up for unnecessary disappointment before you even begin. Third, if you can't identify the primary drivers of your success and truly believe that you have 100 things to do, you don't have a good understanding of your business. Fourth, fundraising won't impact your team when you don't need to raise capital. Fifth, rejection, while hard, is a part of life. Even the most successful salespeople hear "no" far more often than they hear "yes." If you have unrealistic expectations about this and can't maintain a positive attitude unless you close the majority of the people you sell to, you might want to reconsider entrepreneurship. |