The word Entrepreneur is missing some letters. Those letters are "M" and "A". Can't figure out why? Let me tell you a story.
An old-friend of mine had a great idea, let's call it a social network for a specific form of artist. At the time he was employed by a fantastic corporation, lived in a great area and had a respectible salary with benefits.
The dream of independence has strong pull for some. For this particular gentleman, the pull could have been considered irresistible. In fact, he decided to quit his well paying, highly respected job in pursuit of (said) happiness.
I hope I've painted the picture very clearly. To help, let's say that the product was non-existent, had zero web or socially marketed presence and no form of documented consumer/market research.
Some would say he left the job too early. My response? Yes and No - it's hard for some to switch gears. people who can't chew gum and walk are better off just walking. Get the flow?
No one had spoken with a lawyer, accountants, financiers, but most importantly (and the moral of the story), there was NO sounding-board.
As I'm sure you can understand, founding a company is difficult at best. Dealing with legalities, finance, hiring, firing and marketing creates a sum of tasks too tall for one person to manage. Entrepreneur's go crazy over time, you need someone to go crazy with.
So in short, what was my friend missing?
A co-founder.
Someone to share the pain, handle the accountants, lawyers, documents, applications for funding, marketing, logo/brand design and customer research.
Small tasks can really absorb patience and focus. A product designer needs to channel everything he/she has got to initiate "success".
So what could the missing letters spell? T_E_A_M. Cheesy right? Not really - ideas don't get financed, solid teams do - everybody knows that. Find someone you like, not love, and get to work - conflicting personalities are a good thing.
For the love of all things, don't go it yourself. There's no "I" in entrepreneur.
P.S. Our team is awesome. Thanks guys, you know who you are.