All In Startup: Launching a New Idea When Everything Is on the Line

Chapter 40Don’t Go All-In without Confirming Your Assumptions through Smaller Bets

It was getting late, but Owen still felt the adrenaline coursing through his body. Only 16 players left. The crowd was huge now. The field of hundreds of tables from that first day, which seemed like months ago now, had been whittled down to just two and, thankfully, Masters was at the other table. On the other hand, Owen still had Phil Helmuth to deal with. Seven hours after Owen bluffed him out of a lot of chips, Phil was still sour about misreading it.

The dinner break was . . . well, perfect, in a word. Dinner with Sam had been nice. She was new and interesting, and there was a lot to learn, but dinner with Lisa was so much better. Sure, they talked about business, but they also talked about life and their plans for the future. It was just so much more fulfilling. Owen hadn’t even realized how a week of poker and interviews had warped his mind. This was the reality check he needed. The fact that there was also a physical check of at least $750,000 waiting for him didn’t hurt.

The baby was due around February 15. That would certainly make Valentine’s Day interesting this year. Owen showed Lisa his bum knee and the pictures he’d taken on his camera phone right after the accident. He explained to her what happened and how he realized that the business was failing. He told her how Sam had helped him figure out that customers didn’t actually want ReBicycle and how they’d met Shawn Malloy and all ...