I’m going to start by telling you a story about two entrepreneurs. Let’s call them Steve and Larry. Both of them studied at the same university and got good grades, and after graduation, both worked at a high-tech startup where they quickly grew into key roles.
After a few years, they both got hit with an idea for a startup and decided to quit their jobs and venture out on their own. Even though I’ve given them names to make them more personable, I want to emphasize that what makes them similar isn’t their age, gender, or geography, but that they both were struck by a “big idea” and decided to act upon it.
Now, what differentiates them is how they look a year later (Figure I-1).
Figure I-1. Steve and Larry look quite different a year later
A year later, Steve is still building his product. He has no product revenue and relies on part-time freelancing work to fund his product development. And he works alone. Larry, on the other hand, has a growing customer base, growing revenue, and a growing team. How did they end up in such different places?
To answer that question, let’s travel back in time.
One Year Ago…
Steve is at his desk, lost in thought. Earlier that day, his manager told him that their parent company (following on from a recent acquisition) would be shutting down their offices in a couple of months. And Steve was given the choice ...
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