The shame of failing as a founder

Feels like I failed at everything, but I didn’t

Some players swing the bat and hit home runs — they’re legends. But a team also needs fielders, pitchers — journeyman players to defend and prevent opponents scoring. And then there’s me: I swing, miss, strike out, no home run. OK, enough with the baseball analogies. I live in the exciting and confusing universe of San Francisco Bay Area and its galaxy of tech companies, VCs, founders, and all the dreamers who are currently just employees at companies, hoping to launch the next unicorn.

Me too. I’ve experienced driving a cubicle at a big dusty corporation. The mediocrity and lack of imagination that surrounds you is soul destroying. There’s an alarming lack of ethics and kindness, and a deep-seated corporate belief that nice people are nice losers and that only nasty people rise up. This is where your dreams will die. This is where you become the person you hated when you were young and full of dreams. You may hold a semi-interesting job at a nationwide bank, insurance company, healthcare company or large retailer, and you may be nursing a dream to start your own thing and take it to the moon. But you’re so exhausted and demoralized after a day’s work that your mind is no longer pumping out ideas for your secret startup dream, so you pour yourself a drink and see what’s on Netflix…