Wheelin’ and Dealin’
Entrepreneurs are the most optimistic people on the planet. If you look at the odds of succeeding in business, it makes sense that anyone who wants to start a business must necessarily be naively optimistic. As empowering as this optimism may be, it can also set a growing business up for failure. Longshot deals that have a 1 percent chance of going through are “Done!” in most entrepreneurs’ minds. If a startup gets a tiny nibble from a Fortune 500 company, for example, the founders might decide to redirect all of their resources to focus on closing that deal. But if they don’t have a backup plan when the deal inevitably falls through, they’re up the creek without a paddle.
Everyone, from investors, to strategic partners, to potential customers will play footsie with you, only to leave you stranded in the eleventh hour. Be skeptical and expect that 99 percent of all potential deals will fall through. And the bigger the deal, the more skeptical you should be. Stay focused on the fundamentals and keep executing. Then, if a deal actually closes, you can think of it as a bonus!
Get The Agile Startup: Quick and Dirty Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
