When the time is right!
If you are working on a Hardware startup, you might highly resonate to this.
All of us, at some point in time, get stuck at what we do. When we do and how we do it makes a great impact on the outcome. But not all of us get the desired outcome just when we want them to. There can be a lot of factors behind that.
Maybe we haven’t been putting all the effort. or maybe we’ve had some financial issues achieving it. But we also come across influencers who say financials is a bullshit reason. But is it really?
No doubt if you’re working on a project which does not need much finance, it could be an awful reason to cite. But if you have been working on something big. Something which needs capital but you lack that, it can be difficult.
I myself have been in such a situation and it can be pretty scary. it can get real tough at times. Especially when you desperately want to make your project get into the market. If you refrain from asking money to your friends and family, who are usually the first investors in your company, you will have to manage things on your own. Cut out your pocket money to fund your hardware. Or, Borrow electronic components from your peers to work on them. And then, you finally get onto building your vision.
The problems don’t end there. If your dream is huge, you probably won’t be able to make it on your own and with just the borrowed hardware. I mean, who among your peers would have a CAN bus module with them? Or a 15K worth simulator. And if I may assume, you don’t even have a car to test your product. You'll have to wait. Just like I did. And you’ll have to see your peers move ahead with time and your family asking what you’re up to because they thought you’d join a job after graduating.
Since you believe in your vision, you might push yourself beyond limits to learn something which isn’t even your domain. By this time it’s already been more than a year. And lack of progress has pushed you down. This is when you’d listen to some of your mentors say, “Get a job, go build some connections.” But deep down you know this isn’t the right thing to do. After all this time, if you leave now. All that you’ve been working on will be gone. Your vision might not have been shattered but you might have to wait long to see it become a reality. Your hard work and learnings might not go in vain but it sure as hell will feel like that.
So what do you do?
The right thing to do is dig deeper. If you know there’s water underground but can’t find any 5 ft under, you shouldn't stop digging. It’s time to dig more. Be resilient. Be so much into it that those who didn’t believe in you will call you crazy. And those who did, well, they’ll jump in with you now. They’ll know how hell bent you are to see your dream come true.
And when the time is right, only when the time is right, you’ll find enough moisture in the soil to rejoice. Yaay! You’re closer now. But the problems aren’t gone. Those who helped you, leave because they have got a life of their own and even if they told you they share the same vision, they do not have your perseverance.
This is the moment when you’ll start to feel like quitting. You might doubt yourself. But this is also the time when things will start to turn into your favor. All you need to do is keep going. And the bricks will fall into places.
And as Patrick says, you’ll be just one phone call away, just one referral away from getting what you need.
But always remember. Do not quit when it’s difficult. But also know when to quit, because it didn’t work!
You’ll get to the point you’ve desired. Provided you do not cheat on your hard work, work ethics and yourself.
When the time is right, you’ll get what you’ve been working for.
Because “Rome wasn’t built in a day!”. “But life can change in a day.”
