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January 22, 2006
Therapy versus Commitment or "Put Up or Shut Up"
These last few weeks have been filled with meetings. At each one, we describe what we're trying to do and we've been getting almost unanimous consent that what we're doing is great and that we have something really interesting going on. They tell us that we're on the right track and tell us they want to put some cash into our fund.
When we come out of those meetings, we're on a high. Getting positive validation about what we're trying to accomplish makes us feel incredibly good about what we're doing, and when we survive grillings on our plans by seasoned professionals in this area, we gotta feel good about that!
It's like going to a therapist. You have a problem; you're depressed; you feel like the world is down on you and you can't make things right. You hate yourself and it seems like everyone else thinks you're worthless too. Then you see a therapist. They boost you; they tell you you're not a loser. You can get better and they'll show you how. They change your outlook on life and you start feeling really good about yourself again as a result.
These meetings are like therapy. We go in wondering if we'll leave mildly bruised from the expert pounding. Instead, we defend our plans and assumptions and the biggest validation anyone can give us is for them to commit their own funds to us, which shows their trust in our model and in ourselves. So instead of leaving feeling like we suck, we leave instead feeling like we're doing great and other people think so too.
But at this stage, it's all therapy to me. The next stage is about commitment.
People say they will invest in us, but who knows if they really will. Money changes people, as I said in a previous post. Saying something is not the same as doing. Until we see the money actually come in (or in this case, commitment by signing the subscription agreement), it's just all therapy. Nice therapy for sure, but our goal isn't to prop up our self-esteem; our goal is to build our fund and implement our plan to prove it works.
I have already met people who have changed when it came to money. I have already met people who could not commit their own cash no matter what. I am sure I will meet more, and even some who will invest money and then change later. Does money bring out our true natures? In the uncomfortable world of cash, I almost think I don't want to find out some things about people, especially those close to me.
Yes it is an interesting thing, to peer into peoples' inner feelings. But as I said before, it's about the commitment and not therapy and truly, it is a "put up or shut up" world we've leaped into...
Corollary 1: Saying you'll do something and actually doing it are two very different things.
Corollary 2: Don't start work until you see the cash in the bank account.
Posted by dshen at January 22, 2006 01:06 PM
