[A true founder’s story — without the marketing spin]
As a co-founder and advisor to companies that have scaled to revenues into the millions, you often are asked about the creation story of the company: the ah-hah moment that became the idea and how the idea became a reality. We all love a good story; it keeps us motivated and gives us hope. However, I’ve found the larger truth in the story is missing — The truth is that most success is sheer luck. A simple roll of the dice.
For instance, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were successful in the genesis of Microsoft and Apple because they were white middle-class teenagers who happened to have access to computers when the technology was in its infancy. Their curiosity and the freedom to dream of the future lead them to build these iconic companies.
I think the larger concept of starting an enterprise-level company is exploring your curiosities first: performing deep dives into these curiosities (studying intensely, connecting and sharing with others in that subject) and being still enough to see where the opportunities lie.
As a black man, the cultural thru-line of the story that we tell of success is “work your ass off,” “nothing is given; you have to take it,” “team no sleep,” and ‘hustle hard.” These mantras are true for anyone’s success, but if this was the barometer of success. I’d have a lot of blue-collar workers in my family that should be millionaires.
So here’s my story — I got an accounting degree to make my grandmother proud of me. One day, my sister asked me to help her with her company. With her curiosity mixed with my understanding of back-office support, we created a company. She and I were at the cusp of a shift in an industry. The universal dice counted 11 (the dice game craps reference), and we worked really hard, and ten years later, we are still at it. As we scale, I am helping others on this journey. I’m still learning every day, still making mistakes but mature enough to make better mistakes. I’m feeling blessed to be in this position and truly understand that there is a higher power dictating my path beyond my ego.
