The Hustler Manifesto
You know who you are. You’re that guy or girl on the startup roller-coaster who is the first back in line for the next ride, while everyone else is puking on the grass. You’re the one who never pays for event tickets, and always gets into pitching contests way past the application deadline. And you often win, but not always.
Your most-used app is Evernote Hello. You keep on talking to customers, while you know thatoften they will tell you bullshit. You know that investors are interested in lines, not in dots, so you spend a 20-hour coffee binge every week to send them that amazing traction report and PPP update (progress, problems, plans).
You, Your Team, Your Religion
Your team is your core asset. Outsiders who witness your meetings turn white in the face, and are convinced you’re having a break up. But you just had a great strategy meeting, or finally figured out a way to integrate the little know payment platform that’s way cheaper and faster than PayPal.
Your religion has three gods: fast prototyping, distribution first, and storytelling. And you’re never really impressed with successes; you fight so hard to get there, but you know that the coolness of any achievement wears off pretty quickly.
You drove your prospective angel investors or accelerator program nuts, taking two weeks to decide and negotiate whether you’re signing that term sheet or not. You know you can always get a better deal, and that no money can ever be smart enough.
You’re a quintessential hacker. Either you started off as a coder, only to find yourself more interested in hacking clients and investors, or you’re that inconspicuous product visionary, who hacked away just enough at programming fundamentals to know what makes your developer pal quit his nice job at Microsoft and join you against all reasonable odds.
You read fast, think fast, but never trust your memory. Here again, Evernote is your best friend.
You’re as cool as they come, but you value some pretty timeless stuff too. You don’t drink much, and you definitely don’t play around much. You know commitment is your only weapon, and that you can’t afford to compromise that reputation.
There’s never enough of you, but it looks like you’re on the winning end of evolution in our wicked little startup world.
You’re the hustler
So congrats, you’re the hustler, and you’re going to win this crazy game, some day. Until then, you’re just poppin’ tags with only twenty dollars in your pocket. And loving every second of it.
