Missionaries Versus Mercenaries
I learned this term from Randy Komisar’s classic book, “Monk & Riddle.” A tale that takes place after the first dotcom boom in the early 2000s. It’s about this MBA type guy who wants to start a business mainly for the reason that it looks lucrative. But ends up being guided by a successful entrepreneur to focus on another business opportunity that really calls to him.
“if you can't see yourself doing this business for the rest of your life, don't start it. In other words, he wants to see passion and purpose in business, not just spreadsheets and a by-the-numbers business model.”
When I read it early in my career, it was a nice story I enjoyed but did not think would be totally useful. Sort of like the “follow your passion” BS that gets thrown around for career advice. When I became an investor this actually turned out to be a great filter for investing at the early stage when selecting founders and their respective startups.
The mercenary types ended up doing startups for the sole purpose of getting rich. But when things get tough or they have the inevitable near death experience while being paid little to nothing, they quit. A very rational decision because they come to realize there are way easier ways to make money like on Wall Street, Management consulting or even a 9-5 job at Google/Facebook and its ilk. Basically they just don’t last long enough to make the startup a success.
The missionary types on the other hand, start the company because they had an itch to scratch or were deeply interested in the space or solving the problem. This propels them when times are tough and allows them to push through the inevitable challenges that come up in the life of a startup.
Enthusiasm cannot be faked. Most professional investors can see through this. Yes, business models and money are important. But if you look at most of the billionaires or super successful tech entrepreneurs, it’s their excitement and interest that carries them through the hard times. The mission itself, especially when it’s a big problem they are solving for many people. In many ways, it was the oblique approach to wealth.
As Viktor Frankl wrote:
“Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'.”
Why does this matter? It is incredibly painful to will and work a startup into creation. Many near death experiences, the stress of making payroll, customers bailing last minute, key hires quitting. It takes 2-3 years at minimum for most startups to get to Product Market Fit. Then the extreme challenges of scaling your business.
We also know for most startups, any big exit either through going public or an acquisition takes a lot of time. About 9-12 years actually, looking at all the giant tech cos that have emerged. If you are only in this for the money, I just don’t think you will make it. Also that is just a painful existence in general and an almost total waste of your time.
So, for founders out there, make sure you are working on something that matters personally for you. Build a startup that is authentic to yourself and aligns with your mission. Then you might have a chance to raise VC money (assuming that is what you want! :)
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