Welcome back to Day 10. By now, you should be finding joy in the work. My old soccer coach used to say, "to excel at anything, you must be the kind of person who loves the practice." As Sun Tzu said, "Every battle is won before it is ever fought." If you want to gauge someone's potential for greatness, observe what they enjoy practicing. What you do when no one is looking is the truth of who you are. Habits maketh the man. Accept it. Because you cannot change what you do not accept.
Now, I say this with love and respect: not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. That's Ok. It is not a bad thing. It's become trendy to label oneself as such, and many aspire to it. But one of the most crucial things you can do in life is to recognize your limitations. Accepting the truth about yourself, rather than trying to prove something that isn't true, can save you a lot of time and a hell of a lot of pain and suffering. Observe your mindset. If you find the work overwhelming, if the thought of creating a lean canvas seems too burdensome, then perhaps the path of a startup entrepreneur isn't for you. And there's no shame in that. Save yourself years of struggle and consider other paths. You have a choice. Not everyone is cut out for this and they shouldn't be.
Being an entrepreneur requires humility and a flexible mindset. You'll hit many walls, and the ability to change your approach is critical. It's not just about belief; it's about faith. And faith requires work, while belief is about feelings.
I may sound like a broken record, but if there's one thing you take away from these ten days, let it be this: honest self-assessment is power. Being a founder requires a particular set of skills. You must be willing to listen, learn and practice to develop those skills. Because, as I've said time and again, a startup is not a business.
Ok, let's get to it.
You should now have a playbook. Now you can assemble a team. You need to know how to tell a story because sharing your idea with stakeholders is 98% of what you do. To tell that story, you have to have a playbook. You have to know how to do that, and that is what this course is about. Now that you know the game plan, you have to be able to communicate it. There is a reason why we connect you with personal coaches. Being able to tell your story, like everything else in life, is a skill. Steve Jobs didn't wake up with the skills he had. He had coaches. Anything you see that is well executed means there were people around who knew what to do and other people who listened. It's not luck or talent. It takes hard work and focus. Focus needs guidance; otherwise, it's wasted effort. Think of the playbook as your map to the journey you are about to take.
Once you have a playbook, you know what you need. I want to leave you with a few insights.
As you embark on your startup journey, one of your first stops should be the legal department. You'll need both an attorney and a lawyer. Yes, there's a difference. An attorney connects you with resources, while a lawyer handles legal paperwork.
Lawyers, driven by a protective instinct, often approach situations with caution. Their responses typically start with a 'no.' To make a lawyer productive, provide a clear, narrow scope and a starting point. In the age of AI, there's no need to pay exorbitant fees for paperwork.
On the other hand, attorneys are a different breed. They listen to understand your goals and start their conversations with, "I know X and Y, which could be useful for you. Let me connect you." Attorneys add value, while lawyers charge fees. You pay attorneys for their expertise and connections, while you negotiate with lawyers for their services.
Why is this distinction important? Because a significant portion of your startup resources will go into legal matters, especially if you're in the finance industry, Attorneys, with their field-specific experience, can be your best resource. They know the players and can connect you with the right people.
Moreover, an attorney's willingness to connect you with their network can serve as a litmus test for your value proposition. If they see the potential value you can create, they'll be more likely to make those connections. In this sense, an attorney can be one of the most crucial members of your team. Lawyers, on the other hand, are a dime a dozen. So remember, there's a difference.There is a lot more to it. Your job as a founder is to know when to use the right tool for the right job.
In terms of legal work, there is another nuance you need to be aware of. A Silicon Valley Startup and a Main Street Business are two very different species. Law firms that are not familiar with the Silicon Valley method of doing things cannot help you as a startup. They just can't. A startup requires a particular set of skills. It is not forming a corporation. There is a lot more to it. Your job as a founder is to know when to use the right tool for the right job.
You also need to make the same distinction with Money. 50% of so-called entrepreneurs are just perpetual pitchmen who are just about getting high on OPiuM (other people's money). They just like raising money. They are not there to work or build anything. They just want to separate investors from their capital. They really believe that the investment is a golden ticket to success. Investment is not the end its the beginning. Many entrepreneurs are brimming with confidence, believing they possess all the necessary skills, connections, and strategies to make the most of any funding they receive. They assert that money is the only obstacle standing in their way, and if they had it, they could unlock limitless potential. This is just pure bullshit from someone high on their own supply. As a startup, you don't just need money; you need smart money.
However, this mindset reveals a significant misunderstanding. It is precisely that overconfidence that can be off-putting to potential investors or lenders. More importantly, it demonstrates a lack of understanding about the difference between 'smart money' and 'dumb money.'
'Smart money' comes with more than just financial backing. It includes mentorship, industry connections, strategic guidance, and other forms of support that can significantly enhance a startup's chances of success. On the other hand, 'dumb money' is simply financial investment without any additional value-add.
When an entrepreneur only seeks an investor or lender for their money, they're essentially saying they don't value or need the additional benefits that come with smart money. This overconfidence can be a red flag for potential investors, signaling a lack of understanding about the complexities of proving a startup and building a successful business.
In reality, money is just one piece of the puzzle. Successful entrepreneurship requires a blend of resources, mentorship, strategic guidance, and yes, humility. Recognizing the value of smart money over dumb money is a crucial step in this journey.
My hope is that you will take away a few concepts from this course. The most important thing is that a startup is not a business. You have to start something, then lift it up; once you get there, you can build a business. So a startup is not a business. A startup is a value proposition in search of proof, a hypothesis in search of a business model. You need to spend time flushing out a value proposition. Think in frameworks and hammer out the lean canvas. This way, you know when you have proof. Once you have proof that there is a customer for that value proposition, then work out a business model. It's a two-step process. When you have proof of this, scale, and then build a business. Since this is the Unicorn Factory, you want to evaluate the market for your idea and whether or not the opportunity is worth the investment. Being a founder requires a particular set of skills. It takes aptitude, not attitude. Repetition is the mother of skill. So you have to have a love of learning, listen and learn how, and then practice until you get it right, and practice some more until you can't get it wrong. You have to be the kind of person who loves the practice. A profession is a practice, not "a perfect". If you find that you don't love it, then respect yourself and choose to do something else. If you discover that about yourself, then it was the best money you ever spent because that knowledge will have saved you years of your life. The purpose of the Unicorn Factory Workshop is to help you get into the right mindset. You have to make up your mind to change the makeup of your mind. That is the difference that makes a successful start-up successful. Everything you need to know is out there. All the people you need are out there. The customers are out there. If you are not right here, in your head, then you cannot get there from here. Being a founder is an inside job. The destination is the journey.
This is part of the story where the guide leaves and you go the rest of the way on your own. You can do it because you have the recipe. This is where OB-1 leaves Luke. There will be other guides to take you the rest of the way. UF is an accelerator not an incubator. We will connect you with resources but you have to have the playbook first. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to serve and share with you. I want to thank my team without whom this would not have been possible. The transcripts and summaries will be available at onli.services so you can read or listen to them whenever you like. Go through them a few times as we covered a lot in 10 days. Do your research. Ust the tools, like chatGPT and Onli.AI, that is what tools are for so use it. Don't think of it as cheating, if you are not cheating you are not trying hard enough. Thanks again. "Mind what you have learned. " "Serve you well it can." Have courage because you will need it. "Know that the force will be with you, always."