Being an entrepreneur

being an entrepreneur

Being a successful entrepreneur means going through a process of becoming one.

No one is born a successful entrepreneur. We all start out from zero. The men and women who “make it” put themselves through the process of becoming a leader of a company, capable of creating value and generating wealth.

That’s a personal process as much as a professional one.

Last week when I was in Austin, I was talking with someone I’m going to be working closely with this year, who asked me, “what’s exciting about where you’re working right now?”

I told her my endgame is to be an entrepreneur myself, because I’m motivated by the opportunity to earn my freedom.

I also explained that I think that WP Engine represents an opportunity for me, as an employee, to learn how to build a company myself.

I think the growth of any company is limited only by what the founders themselves can envision, and then their willingness to be self-reflective and grow in response to the company growth.

The founder cannot be the same leader they were of a 3-person startup when the company has 50 employees. As the company evolves, so too must the founders. I’d even go so far as to say that when companies plateau, it’s safe to say that someone on the leadership team may need to let go of an old way of doing business.

The strategies that grew the company through the first 15 employees will not work for the next 50. What’s more, those early strategies might actually hamper growth.

 

The entrepreneur can choose to do things according to their first response, or they can ask, “how has my company changed, and how should I respond accordingly so I don’t get in the way?”

Sometimes that’s why bringing in new execs is so powerful. The founders may want to get the right sort of help to take the next steps.

Employees can ask the same question. They truly have the same opportunities to grow or not.

My role has evolved so dramatically in the last 14 months, and sometimes I have a hard time keeping up with it. I’m not the same person that I was a year ago. You can even look at photos and see the difference. I’ve done my best to grow in response to the company’s growth.

Video: My Road Trip to San Diego and back along Pacific Highway 1

Shots from Big Sur, camping on the beach in Jalama, and tons of the Pacific Ocean.  http://youtu.be/n4mODfwxjpQ I made the completely video with a new iPhone app, Montaj, which is like Vine plus extensive editing capabilities. It's amazing … [Continue reading]

I’m calling it: SXSW Interactive is not a tech conference anymore

sxsw is over

Call the morgue. I just got back from Austin, where I got to check the pulse of SXSW and see how it's doing. If you want the TL;DR for the next 1300 words, this is it: SXSW Interactive is DOA. Other tech conferences are quietly moving on, and the … [Continue reading]

What’s the Difference between Austin and San Francisco?

What's the Difference Between Austin and San Francisco

There are two kinds of tech people in the world. Tech people who should live in Austin, and tech people who should live in San Francisco. (Yes, LA and Seattle and New York, I'm leaving you out of this discussion. Bloggers don't seem quite as … [Continue reading]

What Drives Your Happiness?

Austin Gunter - Convertible in San Francisco

Just a picture on this Friday afternoon to share with you all. I hope you're doing exceedingly well. When I bought the convertible last year, I had just gotten out of a very serious, long-term relationship. I didn't yet know that I would be moving … [Continue reading]

Asking What It Means to Slow your Hustle Down and Take a Breather

Taking a Break to Take it All In

"How long have you been here?   Less than a year?   That's not a super long time for everything that's happened...."     Have you ever gotten a gut-check on your ambition? A little message from the world around you … [Continue reading]

This is the funniest (and also most cynical) take on “Community Management” I’ve ever read

From McSweeney's What is a Social Media Community Manager? Oh sorry, I didn’t hear you over the sound of how hip my job is. I’m responsible for engaging current and prospective customers via social media channels, building a strong community … [Continue reading]

Today, Jason Cohen used me as an example on his blog ASmartBear.com

This morning I woke up in Vegas ready to fly home from a conference only to discover on Twitter that Jason Cohen, the founder of WP Engine, had written about me on his blog, blog.asmartbear.com. The title of the post is, "Austin in San Francisco," … [Continue reading]

Being a Dick on Twitter Will Crater Your Startup: BetaPunch May Have Just Eaten Social Media Cyanide

https://twitter.com/DanielleMorrill/status/289157066889785344 Danielle Morrill of Referly had a good reason to be upset with BetaPunch today. BetaPunch is a startup that provides user testing for startups. Apparently Danielle used BetaPunch last … [Continue reading]

The Entrepreneurial Mindset – Mikey Trafton

http://youtu.be/Jmiu-Li2pBk Mikey Trafton is the founder of Blue Fish Development Group, Fire Ant Software, an original investor in the Alamo Drafthouse, and mentors several Capital Factory startups. When Mikey and I met in 2012, he told me a … [Continue reading]