What Is The Right Amount Of Optimism You Should Have About Your Startup?

“I think we’re getting really close to getting funding,” I said to myself. We had just had another VC pass, but THE WAY VCs were passing seemed different to me.

Picture: Depositphotos

Maybe we were getting close to getting funded. More likely we weren’t.

But you’re so strung out from hearing no all the time that you grasp onto anything you can to give yourself hope.

Was I lying or deluding myself?

Maybe.

I was finally right. But it took two years, 63 VCs turning us down, and more twists and turns than a good movie to get there.

So maybe I wasn’t lying so much as I was rationalizing or exaggerating.

The reality is you shouldn’t be lying to yourself about what’s happening. But we can easily slip into the trap of lying to ourselves.

Then, the lies can come quickly and easily. You can lie that:

• You’re going to get funded
• You’re business is doing better than it is
• You’ve finally made it to the top
• You’re going to hire the next person that walks in the door

All these lies eventually end in…