“No way, You Can’t Quit Now”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this founder thing is damn tough.  Not a day goes by do I not think about how much easier life would be if I just quit and went back to a measly job trading hours for dollars.

It sounds so nice, doesn’t it… get a job where I have no real responsibility, just show up, go through the motions and every two weeks have money automatically deposited into my bank account.  Clock-in/clock-out and then go hang with friends and family, gleefully spending the money I didn’t work very hard to earn.

If that was the case, the basis of my employment would be how close to the status quo I could lie, just making sure I don’t screw anything up.

Oppose this to the radical idea of pursing excellence in myself and the things I create.

Yes, it’s tempting to go take the easy road like so many others do… so many whom most likely are way more in touch with reality than am I.

The thing is I am not wired that way.  As crazy as it seems to be, entrepreneurship is so much more than status quo, hours for dollars and not screwing up.  Entrepreneurship is about embracing the unknown and challenging yourself to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges, all this with little or no support and resources.  Basically, an entrepreneur is a magician creating something from nothing.  And trust me, most challenges we face seem insurmountable.  These aren’t just “where’s that piece of paper again?” or “I wonder if my boss will let me go on that vacation I have been thinking about?’

That’s child’s play.

Not a day goes by where I don’t think about the consequences of my decision to forgo income (in my own company or with another job opportunity) for the opportunity to do something most people are afraid to do.    Think about what would happen to you and your life if one day your paycheck just stopped showing up in your bank account.  It takes courage, vision, strategy and a bit of stubbornness to make it as an entrepreneur.  And because of those requirements, most don’t.

Also, quitting is the worst possible option at this time.  Quitting not only validates all who doubted but it also flushes everything I’ve worked for and have equity in.  It flushes it right down the drain.  Not only would I be broke but I would have nothing to show for it.  I can’t let that happen.  I won’t let it happen.

All this goes through my head before I even raise it off the pillow each day.  Although things are tough at times, I count my blessings –  family, friends, business partners, God and all other greatness in my life – allowing me this opportunity.   Not everyone has what I have around me.

The amazing thing is how great of position Seconds is sitting in right now.

• We just experienced our 8^th month of continuous growth, month over month.  We have never seen a down month and don’t intend to.
• We are just about to release a new version of Seconds, one where it will be much easier for you and I to use and experience the value.   It’s gonna blow your socks off.
• We are throwing a big charity party at the end of the month involving a number of area startups as well as donations (via Seconds) to local non-profit Vittana in an effort to fight world poverty.
• We are attending DEMO Conference at the beginning of October, a conference which will be full of founders, executives, investors and media.  This is the event we won a trip to earlier this year at the SURF Incubator pitch competition.
• We have been asked to go back down to San Francisco mid-Oct to be a part of a select group of startups in attendance the TwilioCon, a conference put on by one of the tech platforms in which we have built our system.  They want us to demo Seconds and showcase what we have built with their communications technology.
• In conjunction with our release, we will be rolling out across local colleges and universities for Seconds to be used to easily collect payments in students’ college and greek life.  First one starts at the end of September and we’ll be systematically spreading across numerous campuses throughout the year.

Given all that is good about where Seconds is heading, a few bad days/weeks/months personally will not be enough to push me over the cliff.  I suppose someone or something is trying its best to persuade me to give-in and give up.  If that’s the case, they are going to have to do much better than they are now.

No way, you can’t quit now… you gotta get up and go make it happen.