What I wish someone had told me at the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey

Hey you,

I’m writing this after a stressful and intense day in my Founder land.

It is a feeling that I’m slowly learning to manage. Who isn’t, right?!

I felt like sharing with you today what I wish someone had told me at the beginning of this journey.

It takes time

In the tech-startup world, the most frequent word I heard was FAST. Moving fast, growing fast. Speed. Speed. Speed.

So I got in my head this idea that I should be moving faster and faster and faster. This led to a shit tone of pressure on my shoulders and the constant feeling that I was not doing enough.

Let me break the bubble for you.

There is no overnight success.

It takes time.

My first spark about Parentool was in 2016. We only launched in 2022. You do the math.

I’m not saying that it should take you that long, but you should start this journey knowing that it might require a few years of commitment before beginning to see some measurable results.

!Disclaimer: of course, it depends on the industry, type of service or product, budget, availability, experience etc. I had none. I talked about it in my previous email.

It challenges you to the core.

I often say that starting a business is the second-best personal development school in the world (parenting is the first one).

It challenges you to the core.

If you are self-aware, you will meet many inner monsters while developing your startup.

It challenges:

  • your mindset,
  • your decision-making process,
  • your relationship with your ego
  • how well you set boundaries
  • your people-pleasing and abandonment wounds
  • your self-sabotage tendencies
  • your relationship with your family, partner, and friends

These are just a few of the ones that I also experienced.

You will find a way if you want it bad enough.

Remember how, in the first email, I wrote about those Oh, buts.. that come to your mind the second you decide you want to start something on your own?

That voice in your head is the biggest film director.

She tells you horror scenarios where you fail, nobody will ever want to work with you again, and your parents will be disappointed. She makes you believe that the world will end the minute you fail.

We all fail.

Even though it might not seem like it, and you feel like starting a business is this giant elephant you don’t even know how to start working with, you will always find a way if you want it bad enough.

When you decide that you are on a mission to make something happen, you will see how all your brain circuits will align in your favor. You will start connecting the dots, asking for help etc.

Some people will disappoint you, some will surprise you

Another thing that I wish someone had told me is how much my relationship with my friends will change.

Only some people will support your new journey. And it’s not about you. It’s about what your act of courage awakens inside them. Don’t let this stop you from trying!

However, there will also be some people that will surprise you. People that you might not have expected to be cheerleaders for your new adventure. But there they are. Those are your people. The ones that cheer for you when you are low and when you are on a podium. The ones you feel like will kick your ass when you need it but also hold space for your vulnerability.

I used to be jealous of people that ‘‘had’’ many friends. Until I realized that it is not about the number of people you have around but the quality of those connections.

Not every piece of advice is good advice.

As a recovering people-pleaser with low self-esteem, I considered myself inferior to others. Not to mention in front of experienced entrepreneurs.

I was like a puppy absorbing every word they said and taking it for granted. Not filtering it through my thinking process and how their advice landed for me.

Needless to say, that is not something I recommend.

No matter how experienced or not the person in front of you is, you are the owner of your story, so you can decide what is suitable for you.

No one knows your inner journey better than you.

No one knows your vision better than you.

Listen to the advice, see what resonates with you, implement what you feel like it, and reject what doesn’t.

You are the one that will have to live with the consequences.

There is NO recipe

I was sooooo naive at the beginning.

I thought that if I had a plan, followed Lean Model, and did tons of interviews, everything would magically work out.

There is no recipe.

There are frameworks that you can use, and you can listen to other fellow entrepreneurs’ advice, but there is no magical dust. Run if someone is trying to sell this to you!

Each experience is custom-made.

Your clients’ behavior changes, there are global events, and there are all sorts of disruptions in the market. You have to adapt and wing it.

It’s one of the most freaking transformational and exciting experiences

One thing is for sure.

Although I have some days when I want to give up, move to Barcelona and spend my days on the beach, working on growing my business is magical.

Seeing how you create something tangible that people use from just a simple, tiny idea gives your life a whole new purpose.

Let me know how this landed for you 💛

And if you are looking for a step-by-step guide with no-bullshit and inside info about how to start a business, check out my eBook From Idea to Launch- a step-by-step guide for startup founders.

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