Page 26 - 6 Secrets to Startup Success

True Believers 5

with the kids. The list goes on and on, limited only by the fact that a
surprising number of entrepreneurs can’t fully explain why they do
it. They just know that it’s something they have to do.

Underneath it all—beneath the endless variation, the unexpected
turns, and the wide range of motivations—a powerful force drives
everything forward.

It is the force of passion.
When I first began to study entrepreneurship, I would never have
predicted I’d be writing a book about entrepreneurial passion. I’ve al-
ways thought of passion as a given in the startup world—a basic in-
gredient, like salt in food, so common that it would not be a factor in
differentiating success from failure. Besides, the topic already gets its
share of air time among the great Motivational Media—the hype-
driven websites, magazines, books, and videos that have made you-
can-do-it success stories into a kind of cult religion for wanna-be en-
trepreneurs.
But there is no getting around it. Every great venture I’ve studied
has propelled itself forward with an unshakeable sense of commit-
ment, a kind of rapturous belief among core founders. The reason is
clear. The startup path is not for the faint of heart. Ask successful en-
trepreneurs to reflect back on their journey, and an unequivocal re-
sponse comes back: I knew it would be hard, but I had no idea it would be
this hard. In the words of technology blogger Dave McClure, “You are
going to be embarrassed, ashamed, labeled as an idiot, shunned,
ridiculed, and occasionally driven from the village with pitchforks.
Get used to it.”1
On such a demanding journey, qualities that breed confidence and
resilience, qualities such as passion, courage, hope, commitment, faith,
are like oxygen to entrepreneurs, sustaining them through the long
hours, the stress, and the inevitable adversity and doubt that are a nat-
ural part of the startup process. But just as oxygen cannot protect a
person from all forms of danger, passion cannot eliminate risk from
the startup equation. In fact, I have found that passion is just as plen-
tiful among failing entrepreneurs as among those destined to succeed.
As I studied entrepreneurial success factors, I couldn’t help but
notice the high rates of new business failure, and I became intrigued

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