Always hide the Porsche?

    I saw this story on Instagram and it made me think about my paradigm as a Co-founder of a Tech company. I did not get into business to buy lots of expensive cars and strut my stuff on the red carpets of the world. I started a company to improve the lives of people, not only financially but to create a company that holds true to values that I find most important, such as treating people like grownups, and being an example of hard work and equity.

   As far back as I can remember, I have always wanted to do something especially noteworthy, something that future generations would be proud of. When I was much younger, since I was athletically gifted to a certain extent, I thought my outlet would be sports. Unfortunately for me, like many kids, I did not realize how much really goes into molding a professional athlete. Sadly, being a professional athlete never worked out. 

    So I moved on, and continued my search for purpose in many different professions, and they all had at least one major flaw, none of them gave me the ability to break through that proverbial "glass ceiling". A legacy tech company wasn't my first choice, but I have come to realize it is a great way to build something I can be proud of, and affect positive change on a large scale.

    That being said, I do not want to make the wrong impression. I am by no means a die hard idealist. At the end of the day, business is about making money, something all entrepreneurs know, regardless of their specific endeavor. This end is why we work so hard, no matter the means we use to get there. Some ask me what propelled me to venture out on my own, instead of sticking with a "secure job" that pays well, and has good benefits.

    Starting a company from scratch is anything but a "sure thing", but as we have come to realize, with incidents like the COVID19 pandemic, and other events that have had a negative affect on the economy, nothing is truly "secure" anymore. I, like many others, was directly affected by executive changes made at the workplace due to COVID19, something I wouldn't wish upon even my worst enemy. It was this event that confirmed for me, the uncertainty that the traditional job field presents for people like me, and the only way to combat that was to create something uniquely my own.

    After a considerable amount of research, I found a niche that I was excited about, in a market that is maturing fast enough to make it blatantly viable to any serious investor. The trick was how to address the gaps that I had found, with a product that people could get behind, and how find the right people who were willing to take this leap of faith with me. It took a lot of asking around and botched pitches, but eventually I found enough supporters to be taken seriously. It took a lot of work, and I had to deal with more rejection than I had dealt with since serving a service mission in Peru. You see, there are major red flags thrown up in an experienced investor's mind, when pitched by a green entrepreneur with a "cool idea", because few have the work ethic or means to ensure their idea comes to fruition. Another detail that caught me by surprise was how few developers are brave enough to take advantage of equity agreements, and other methods of payment which if negotiated well, could lead to immensely greater income than the "safe route", in my opinion.

    When it comes to tech start ups, I see a lot of talk about "burn out". I have experienced it and it is not fun. From my experience, it doesn't come about specifically due to over working, but is more of a symptom of bad time management, or a lack of a clear, common goal that the whole team is behind. Then what does burn out look like you ask? Burn out is when you are working your business, but are wishing you were with your family and visa versa. Don't be with family and friends halfheartedly, or at work halfheartedly. Be where you are wholeheartedly, and that will help prevent burn out. It's not the cure, but it helps. Also, make sure that the foundational team members are all on the same page as you, and confirm this status as often as needed. If expectations are way off, it creates problems, not to say all problems are avoidable, but you will never regret taking care of the ones that are.

    By hiding the Porsche you may get the outside investment you desperately need for your company to grow, but even more importantly, lets make sure we are the authors of a legacy that future generations will admire and try to emulate. We will not be perfect on our voyage towards our dreams and goals, but we can be respectable. If you are present in what you are doing, you can avoid the burn out associated with building a company from the ground up, or even taking a big company to the next level.

Till we meet again,

Robert Morton

Co-founder