A Shitty Car Will Take You From Point A to Series A
When I left full-time employment, I was lucky enough to have inherited my Opa’s (dutch for Grandpa) 1998 Mistubishi Lancer. Even though I had to come to terms with the fact that I was down-sizing from a company car resembling something Jay-Z would cruise around NYC in, I didn’t have a car payment. It was one less thing chipping away at my runway savings.
Compare that with a friend of mine who, at the same time as me, started his own media agency and went out and squandered $40,000 on a Beemer.
“It’s going to help me look legit and get clients” — He would say.
“That’s handy because it’s costing you $1,000 a month” — I’d reply.
Every time I have a tight month financially, I thank my Opa for his contribution to my future as a successful founder.
Aside from the cash-flow aspect of splashing out on luxuries, I’m constantly being told how investors will judge founders by the car they’re driving — and not in the way my friend would hope.
You see, if you prioritise your personal image over the business you are trying to build, with your own money, imagine what you will do with theirs.
So the next time you’re pulling up to an important meeting in a shit box and the valet driver looks at you dis-approvingly, walk a little taller knowing that you are a Lean Founder.
#TLF
