Almost all of my ventures over the past 30 years have been startups. I know how difficult they are and the journey one takes when bringing to the market something that germinates from the seed of an idea. Startups are sensitive creatures.

The progress of society, the discoveries made, and the building of the future relies on individuals taking risk to create value by executing on the imagination of the world being a better place. There are so many founders in the past who have changed the course of the world that we all enjoy today. We know greatest hits like Jobs/Wozniak, and we know others to be local businesses offering a service that is unique (most towns have a great pizza business). Some amazing startups and founders disappeared because of market conditions or inability to raise additional capital to stay afloat.

Read here about my role as CEO.

Founders are often the catalyst needed to bring a "great idea" to life. But once the idea is live, the pressures to know and perform at management, operations, marketing, and manufacturing becomes secondary and tertiary challenges. Although the great idea may succeed, the business does not. Too many early challenges can overwhelm a business.

From the age of 18 I have been starting up companies to advance my great ideas. Mostly they have been successful, but early in my career many were not.

Why?

Mostly because I was new to process and new to business. Over time I continued to define at what I was good and develop my skills to do better.

Not every founder has that kind of time or ability. There is this mantra of "if I can do it, you can do it" which I find is completely false. I cannot do what others do, and they cannot do what I do. Just because something can be done it does not mean the process can be reduced to something so oversimplified that anyone can do it.

My point is that every found faces challenges, and many do not have the bandwidth or time to figure out everything like one would like to. I have been fortunate enough to have been given advice on a few occasions that helped direct my decision-making, and this is what I offer.

When helping others understand where they are and on what they should be working, I learn as well. That collective learning advances the business of being an entrepreneur. It makes me more valuable as a startup professional, and helping others figure it out helps tilt the odds in the favor of all founders.