Summary: Yes, that headline and image is meant to be provocative. Startups need to sell. Attention is critical. But not clickbait. So grab your coffee and let’s go (btw that definitely isn’t me!).<br> First, a quick backstory<br> My background is ecommerce and Amazon. In 2015 I invested $8k in product and managed to scale my “startup” to a 7 figure exit at the end of year one (all while traveling the world).<br> If you are scratching your heads, you should be. Building and flipping a business in a year is stupid. But my goal was learn and make some quick cash so I could focus on things that actually mattered.<br> Somehow it worked. And through the process I built a top 3 Amazon podcast, met hundreds of Amazon sellers and helped 1000s build businesses on Amazon.<br> But startups NEED 100%<br> <br> Forget the “give me 110%. soldier” Sure, it sounds cool to say but 100% is it. There is not higher gear — and this stress kills entrepreneurs.<br> Starting a business is really freaking hard. I spent a year of 80–100 hour weeks, grinding, hustling and trying every trick in the book to make things happen.<br> Some worked. Many didn’t. It didn’t matter though. I was 100%, I was all in.<br> That takes its toll.<br> You can only give 100% for so long, especially when you heart isn’t really in it. And I was doing it just for the money — that isn’t enough. Founders NEED to be obsessed with what they are building.<br> How else can you handle the stress, rejections and sleepless nights…?<br> The importance of obsession<br> People tell you to follow your passion, that isn’t enough. Passion is a good start, but I’m passionate about peanut butter.<br> A banana with peanut butter is heaven on earth, nothing beats it.<br> But I sure as hell don’t want to start a peanut butter company. That small snacky passion isn’t a driving force for me. It won’t keep me going day in and day out.<br> And the market is competitive. There are plenty of peanut butter brands and almost no differentiation or innovation.<br> Instead, the best founders are obsessed with an idea. They set out to radically change the world and follow their obsessions to its logical conclusion — success, or failure. But as an investor, I’ll bet on intelligence plus obsession any day.<br> When Zuckerberg first described Facebook or Elon explained Tesla’s mission, it was clear these cats were hooked. They were incredibly smart, driven and drinking the kool-aid.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Whether you are building a venture scale startup or bootstrapping a business, commitment is everything. There will be huge highs and horrible lows — it is a roller coaster.<br> Between the stress of running out money, the pressure to push product and the problems hiring and managing great talent, starting a startup is arguably the most grueling (and rewarding) work.<br> Only the obsessed survive, everyone else quits or sells out early…<br> Managing is hard<br> The best founders build great teams, using their obsession and charisma to attracts followers. They know they cannot possibly do alone, so they surround themselves with complementary talent.<br> This is something I have always struggled with. Most of my career has been a one man show with a large outsourced team. I’m a builder, not a manager. When it comes to managing people and optimizing existing success, it gets dull for me.<br> I have never been “obsessed enough” with the mission to push through. And most founders are not natural leaders. Instead they grow into the role, not out of desire but out of necessity.<br> When you are obsessed with a goal, you sacrifice yourself for the mission.<br> The shiny object A.D.D. issue<br> Yes, I have attention deficit disorder — never diagnosed (but spend enough time with me and it is easy to see). This makes shiny object syndrome challenging.<br> In the past I got distracted easily. A new PPC strategy, Instagram ads,
