As a young entrepreneur, I cannot overstate the importance of serendipity. I don’t know whether I’ll ultimately be successful or not, but the success I’ve had so far has been 10 percent inspiration, 90 percent perspiration, and 50 percent surprises. And if you’re saying that this adds up to 150 percent—you’re catching on to my first lesson, which is that it will surprise you how much more it is than you thought: more work, more fun, more pain, more whatever. Your mileage will vary, but here are some of the surprises that I encountered along the way:
1. People love failure. I haven’t failed (yet) as an entrepreneur, but I failed a class in entrepreneurship at Stanford business school because I was too busy working on Piazza. People love the story, and not just for the irony. If you’re relatively smart and you talk about how you failed at something, it makes people think there must be a story there, and it humanizes you. I used to be sheepish about admitting to any failures, but I’m out and proud now. Failed classes, failed marriages—it’s all good.
To read the full, original article click on this link: 10 Surprises of a First-Time Entrepreneur | Xconomy
Author:Pooja Nath Sankar
