How an Entrepreneur’s Passion Can Destroy a Startup

The Negative Impact of Excessive Zeal on a Startup

The article How an Entrepreneur's Passion Will Destroy a Startup was written by Noam Wasserman. discusses the negative impact of excessive zeal on the success of an ambitious business While zeal is essential for the success of a new startup when the entrepreneur disregards logic, they can make poor decisions that lead to the failure of their entrepreneurial venture.<\/p>

The Three Critical Stages Where Excessive Zeal Can be Detrimental

According to Wasserman, there are three critical stages in the formation of an ambitious business where too much zeal can be a detriment rather than a benefit. The first is after the startup's initial launch. In spite of their confidence, the entrepreneur should not let their feelings guide their judgment when it comes to the viability of their go to market strategy. They should conduct an extensive market research to determine the customer base for their product or service. The next phase is during the creation of the company\u2019s business plan. Too much enthusiasm at this stage could lead the entrepreneur to spend too much capital in pursuit of outcomes that are not rationally possible. The entrepreneur could also be expecting positive returns too soon after they have launched their company and end up being frustrated.<\/p>

The Negative Impact of Enthusiasm in Equity Division

The next phase too much enthusiasm is a negative thing is during the division of equity among the various partners. Naivety and too much passion much may lead an entrepreneur to split ownership equity without taking into consideration a situation where the amount of responsibility and commitment to the firm may change. The final stage is after the startup has picked up. Here, an over enthusiastic entrepreneur may not acknowledge the limits of their management skills. After achieving a certain degree of growth, a professional is needed to take the company to the next level.<\/p>

Valuable Lessons for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

From his article, there are three valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs. First, they should educate themselves on the potential challenges to the startup. Second, they should not sign agreements that are not flexible enough in case they need to adjust them in the future, and finally, they should be ready to prioritize the growth of the company before their ego.<\/p>

Work cited

Wasserman, Noam. "How An Entrepreneur's Passion Can Destroy A Startup". THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 2014. Web. 10 Feb. 2017.