Over the past few months, the ChopDawg team has been spending hours working with a specific client to help bring her app idea to life. The idea was beyond reproach. She was the type of founder who could make it succeed. The story is set for a happy ending - or is it?
She knew the type of investment that she would need to make, both in terms of time and money. She had done her homework to understand her market. She had asked her potential customers what they think of such a product, what they would pay to use it. She was as prepared as you’ll ever be to take a leap into building a new product.
Then, out of nowhere, she called me just as the deal was beginning to wrap up.
She decided to not move forward.
Analysis Paralysis
My first reaction: what happened?
Did someone undercut our pricing and timeframe? Did she lose her funding? Did a competing product drop into the market? It just didn’t make sense.
She checked off all the boxes to kick off her company: she was consistently passionate about the idea, our teams were a great fit, and the deal's progress was moving quickly and effectively. We were just about to break ground on building the next big thing, with her at the helm of the future.
Taking a note out of her book, we did a little customer development ourselves. I asked her what happened.
Her answer? "The timing wasn't right."
If you heard her tell it, she isn't in the position in her life to "drop everything" to give this project the time and attention it deserves. "I'll reach back out when I'm ready," she promised us - and presumably herself.
The Cold Hard Truth for Founders-to-Be
Here is the cold hard truth to all of the wantrepreneurs and upcoming founders reading our story.
The timing will never be right. Never.
Ever hear a successful founder say, "hey, now that I have all this time free, all this money to spend, and no stress in the world - it's time to jump into my business and build my app!" Oh, no? We never have, either.
Life isn’t set up that way. The reality is, saying that timing isn’t right is just an excuse, and a poor excuse at that.
The reality? You're afraid.
Maybe it's because of the financial commitment, and the cutbacks you'll make on eating out. Perhaps it's because of the time you won't to get to invest in parties with friends, watching your favorite show, or finally learning to dive - like you've been talking you'd do for years. It could be the lifestyle change you're not excite about - trust us, we know the horror of the blank page or empty development console, too. Or maybe, deep down, you know your idea isn’t the right thing for you to pour your heart and soul into.
Saying the time isn’t right is an indicator of a bigger issue. Before you even start thinking of ideas, think of yourself: know what your personal obstacles will be and how will you overcome them at the very beginning. Figure out solutions because, to be frank, walls will always exist.
Welcome to the Club
When I founded ChopDawg, I had my own obstacles to overcome - and lots of them.
I lacked income to invest in this business. I didn't have a team to build our the company. I had no experience in actually starting a company. My time was almost entirely consumed by being in school at the time. It didn't help that I had no connections to find and attract my customers.
Yet I knew deep down, these were just excuses. I had the irrational fear that we all have of being a failure. I knew that even if I didn’t have the answers, I’d figure them out as I went along. The best founders don't have all the answers: they're going into new territory, and they have to figure it out along the way. We simply have no choice once we're in the middle of it.
My favorite analogy says it all: entrepreneurship is like jumping out of a plane and building your parachute on the way down.
There is a reason why most entrepreneurs fail. It’s because they aren’t entrepreneurs. They pretend to be entrepreneurs.
If you’re a real entrepreneur, you’ll realize that timing will never be right - and that is okay.
You’ll make the strengths that you do have work for you and the weaknesses you have will both grow stronger and be supported by your team. Maybe that is raising money. Maybe that is hustling with every minute that you have. Maybe that is reading every business book on this planet.
At the end of the day, if you’re committed to an idea, don’t make excuses or talk yourself out of what could be the next big thing.
Take the time, figure out your obstacles, be self-aware to understand what you can and can’t do, then leverage it. It is all that you can do and fortunately for you, you won’t be alone. All of us that have “made it” have gone through the exact same thing. If you’re the real deal, you’ll figure it out. If you’re not the real deal, you’ll realize to stop wasting your time now and start figuring out your next quest in your life journey.
Either way, you’ll be a winner.