Why Entrepreneurs Fail: Product Camp Follow-Up

This blog post is adapted from the speech Kevin Koym gave at Product Camp 2010 in Austin, Texas. Slides are hosted here.

Current employment is way down, compared to every recession since WWII. Now, on one hand, this looks dire for the American Economy. If there are no jobs, then we're all in trouble, right? Well, I would argue the contrary. I believe that the state of things represents a huge opportunity for each of us to transform our relationship to work.

In May of 2008, the Michael Malone published an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "The Next American Frontier" where he predicts that the uncharted territory for Americans is not geography, but new markets, new products, and new innovations. Instead of Daniel Boone cutting Wilderness Road to Kentucky, the Pioneers we will recognize in the next ten years will be entrepreneurs who create products that affect our lives. We have people like Elon Musk who found companies like PayPal, and go on to build space rockets.

There has never been a better time to start a company, and there are entrepreneurs in and around the Tech Ranch who have done just that. When Dell or IBM didn't want them around anymore, these people have turned pro in the thing that they love, starting a company around their passion. Passion is of three critical elements of being an entrepreneur, according to Tech Ranch Partner, Graham McFarland. Without the Passion for the business, an entrepreneur won't get anywhere. However, an entrepreneur must turn pro in their field, otherwise it's just a hobby. Entrepreneurs must also have the skills necessary to support their business. Finally, there must be a market for the product the entrepreneur is creating. The intersection of your Passion, Skill, and a Market is where you want to start your venture. And the market size doesn't need to be a billion dollars. A quarter to half a million dollar market will buy plenty of beans and rice and the big guys won't blink at that size of a market.

The critical juncture of becoming an entrepreneur is Risking the Present for a Powerful Future. I've linked to the HBR article by Austin-based Tracy Goss where she explains there must be a leap of faith for an entrepreneur to get to the next level of their business. Without this leap of faith, the future cannot be reached.

This is the leap of faith that we're taking at the Tech Ranch. When you're ready to make it, The Ranch is here to support your business with collaboration, education, and access to critical resources. Came to the next Campfire to find out more about Tech Ranch Austin, and the companies incubating with us.

Booklist from the Presentation:

For the elements of motivation:
Drive by Daniel Pink

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

The Last Word on Power by Tracy Goss