2022 Reflections

What I learned from my failures in entrepreneurship

At the beginning of 2022, after I had left my job, I made a bold goal of making $1 million dollars by the end of the year. Not necessarily because I wanted a selfishly luxurious life with a golden bathtub, but because I wanted to test my personal agency and ability to achieve moonshots.¹

Unfortunately I made $0. What happened?

Dashed dreams, but I pivoted

The first problem was that my stratospheric goal was unrealistic and paralyzing. Despite spending many hours thinking in my room, none of my ideas seemed to be the perfect million-dollar idea that I could implement within my tight timeframe. Instead of fixating on the extreme target, I should have adjusted and started with small jobs (that people clearly need). I’m most disappointed that I didn’t even make or sell a $1 trinket. As some authors advise, “No job is beneath you,” “Adapt or die,” and “Live life in crescendo.” Perfectionism often ends in procrastination, unfinished projects, and frustration.

Second, I lacked leadership skills including courage and humility. I hesitated getting a team together, united under a shared vision, until I felt my startup idea and knowledge were fully ready because I was afraid of making any irreversible mistakes. But given my limited time and resources, I needed to begin with the ideas, skills, and support of others. Instead of trying to be a master of everything (coding, design, and business), I should have focused on the essentials for an entrepreneur—build a minimum viable product and grow with user feedback. I am not yet a superhuman who can singlehandedly produce a Broadway-quality show in my garage.

My third mistake was that I did not prioritize my time and focus. Despite the adage “The man who chases two rabbits catches neither,” I spent much time exploring the world of art and procrastinated on my difficult startup work. As I was only consuming and not producing, my worries about my financial well running dry further reduced my valuable creative time and inhibited risk-taking. I should have been disciplined by putting first things first and following a structured plan with deadlines. Successful entrepreneurship requires commitment and sacrifice (forming the habit of doing what failures don’t like to do).

Though I’m jealous of Bill Gates (who dropped out of college to become a billionaire entrepreneur), I may need more maturity, work experiences, and capital resources before I can create a great, enduring organization. Though I got a taste of startups in college, I don’t know what challenges may await me (from countless technical bugs to giant global competitors). Before plunging into the sea naked, I should have learned a bit more about myself, the water, and how to swim. Though I thought I would be smart enough to discover the diamond needle in the worldwide haystack by the year’s end, it seems I do not yet have God-like intelligence for actualizing all of my imaginations.

Though I failed to achieve my primary million-dollar objective this year, I did grow personally, including settling in Philadelphia and reflecting on my life values. After reading again my favorite book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, I remembered the importance of living a balanced, principle-centered life. While my entrepreneurial ambitions are important, so are my artistic dreams, along with my family and civic responsibilities. Instead of trying to emulate² Bill Gates, I can define my own success and be a role model. Love, beauty, and truth are some virtues that transcend measurement in dollars. Wealth, after all, is a means, not the end.

Rather than abandoning ship and taking it easy now, I can, as a friend encouraged, work even harder to fulfill my duties and enable the dreams of others. As Drew Faust advised, if my first choice doesn’t work out, then move onto the second best option.³ Though Abraham Lincoln failed many times, he persevered, changed and grew. With stronger conscience and trust in providence, let us adapt and defeat the giant Goliath.

Ok enough preaching and now how can I make a high-tech faux golden bathtub…

1. “To accurately identify your strengths, use feedback analysis. Every time you make a key decision, write down the outcome you expect. Several months later, compare the actual results with your expected results. Look for patterns in what you’re seeing: What results are you skilled at generating? What abilities do you need to enhance in order to get the results you want? What unproductive habits are preventing you from creating the outcomes you desire? In identifying opportunities for improvement, don’t waste time cultivating skill areas where you have little competence. Instead, concentrate on—and build on—your strengths.” Quote from HBR article “Managing Oneself” by Peter Drucker.

2. “It is worth noting that extraordinary achievements are never based on emulating someone else’s achievements, but on some unmeasurable combination of (a) marching to one’s own specific and unique drummer and (b) accidentally—perhaps unconsciously—doing something that captures the Zeitgeist in new and unexpected ways.” Harvard admissions article.

3. "For years I have been telling students: Find what you love. Do what matters to you. It might be physics or neuroscience, or filmmaking or finance. But don’t settle for Plot B, the safe story, the expected story, until you have tried Plot A, even if it might require a miracle. I call this the Parking Space Theory of Life. Don’t park 10 blocks away from your destination because you are afraid you won’t find a closer space. Don’t miss your spot—Don’t throw away your shot. Go to where you think you want to be. You can always circle back to where you have to be. This can require patience and determination." Harvard president Drew Faust’s speech.