“I’m in it because I love the grind.”

Business folks don’t like to use touchy feely words like “love,” because it sounds too much like the language of their “nonprofit,” tree-hugging brother-in-law who can’t tell a single dollar of profit from a false prophet.

Yet, you can tell when someone’s in it for the short-term rush from closing a sale. Sure, that high is addictive. But what drives that hustle for the long haul of building something real? “Love is the answer,” as the song goes.

What keeps the newborn’s parents up at 3 in the morning? Just like the startup founder debugging their shopping cart, and everyone else has gone home? Why go back when you just want to walk away from an ugly “oh crap, did I just say that” knockdown fight? Just like saddling up for one more pitch after the nth rejection. Gotta be love, ‘cuz nothing else is worth it!