When Airbnb popped up on my screen I was in Siberia having my website rewritten from scratch after 8 years of spaghetti code.
It was the same thing and Airbnb which was just designed better (in 2008).
When a couple of years later I finally realized they destroyed my business it took me some time to admit I didn't really miss a chance: I had none to begin with.
I just don't have what it takes to grow a business to those levels.
In my case it's probably not an emotional issue, but it has still a lot to do with personality.
I guess my takeaway is: not everyone can be a CEO of a unicorn and this is fine.
Try not to put yourself down like that; it might just be that you were already grounded and emotionally centred enough that you didn't need to chase the riches and fame :)
I guess you are right.
I think my biggest block to success was that I was just to happy! :)
The very reason I had started that business in 2001 was because I wanted to travel full time.
I managed to do that and I was already in a "too good to be true" state of mind.
The happiness and fulfillment I got from those years are now my own "essential oils" for the occasional hard times.
When something goes wrong I just have to go back, smell a drop of that, and I'm back on my feet in no time.
I wasn't just looking to grow the business, it was a mean to an end.
Thanks for sharing this, if you don’t mind to elaborate, what aspects of personality do you think have more weight?
Have you consider partnering with someone who complements those aspects?
My anecdotal opinion - pure tech people don't usually make good founders because they are too realistic and grounded.
A company needs a visionary, someone who is at times even blinded by their optimism and vision. You pair that visionary with a strong grounded realist, and they balance each other out. There are times when both are needed - to either take a leap of faith (risk) or mitigate/avoid risks.
But this dynamic will also only work if these founders have good communication and respect towards each other, otherwise friction can turn into bitterness and resentment.
I think we should not force ourselves to become something we are not.
If you've got the Unicorn CEO personality, go for it as it would be a pity to be stopped by fear.
If you don't have it, why chase the social norm of the day?
You won't make it and you'll be miserable.
Again, not everyone has to be a CEO.
You can be great at something else but you need to be blind to the social requirements of your age.
What is cool today wasn't cool 20 years ago and won't be cool in 20 years time, anyway, understand this and you are free.
Maybe we will look back at the "be big or go home" days as a skewed approach to business fuelled by VCs need for high returns.
And yes, today I look for partners who can complete me, as I have millions ideas but I only enjoy the first part, where you go from 0 to 10, growth 10 to 1000 is boring for me and I'm not good at it.
BTW, if anyone is good at it, I have great ideas in the Vacation Rentals (Airbnb) market, my contacts are in the profile.
I agree. In my case it's not ethics as I enjoy working hard, but as it gets less interesting and goes in growth phase I'm already chasing the next idea.
I was just kidding btw. The AirBnB founders just got lucky.
They knew the right people to get into Y Combinator. Their original idea for air mattress rental is a really dumb idea. It's a miracle that they got accepted into YC.
When Airbnb popped up on my screen I was in Siberia having my website rewritten from scratch after 8 years of spaghetti code.
It was the same thing and Airbnb which was just designed better (in 2008).
When a couple of years later I finally realized they destroyed my business it took me some time to admit I didn't really miss a chance: I had none to begin with.
I just don't have what it takes to grow a business to those levels.
In my case it's probably not an emotional issue, but it has still a lot to do with personality.
I guess my takeaway is: not everyone can be a CEO of a unicorn and this is fine.