When I founded SYSTEMIC, back in 1999, most of my friends and fellow coworkers at CITI and ABN AMRO envied my new independent status. As the company quickly became successful, most of them made the following assumptions about what is needed to “escape” from the employee status and launch a successful new venture:
- You need an idea that nobody had thought of before, something that doesn’t already exist in the market
- You need capital which you don’t have
- You need a substantial amount of luck
My own experience has dictated that this perception is generally false. More important ingredients are needed for a new company to be successful, while for many people, these particular three create a barrier to realizing their dream:
- Team building
- Patience
Lessons Learnt:
- Nothing is more important than your team. They merit your heavy investment and will reward you in different ways.
- It is not so much the great idea that counts, it is rather the way that you put it into practice.
- Be patient. It takes time for good ideas to mature.
- A bit of luck and a bit of money can help. But not much more than that.
