Member-only story
Why 90% of Startups Fail
And how you can be in the 10% that succeed
I am at WeWork. It is a busy day.
In a corner, a barrister serves coffee to a long queue of hipsters. On the other side, a black dog is surrounded by a small crowd.
I am sitting at a table, waiting for John.
John was introduced to me by a recruiter who pitched a life-changing opportunity. He is the CEO of an incredible startup, the one that will revolutionize an entire industry.
Little did the recruiter know that I meet people like John regularly. But I didn’t care. I was a consultant, and I was paid well.
John finally shows up. When he sees me, he smiles and makes a joke. He then sits and looks me straight into the eyes. He looks serious.
“Vlad, we are going to change the world. I don’t care about raising money. I can raise 200 million just with a couple of calls.” He continued, “I want you to focus on technology. I want you to build to disrupt.”
John was really persuasive, a people person.
1 month later, I left John’s startup, and 6 months later, his startup was history. They burned all the money they raised with expensive logo designs, a team of 12 employees, and a £5000/month office.
