The Power Of Just Showing Up

The game of startups is a game of foresight, skills, grit, and persistence, but it is without a doubt also a game of chance. In an industry where the majority of the money is won by 1 out of 99 projects, it’s understandable that you need some good fortune to be in that one percent.

This doesn’t mean, however, that the startup game is a game of dumb luck. On the contrary – as most poker pros would tell you, such games of chance are also games of skill, just a different kind of skill.

While it might be impossible to predict where and when you’ll find your fortune, you can certainly tip the odds in your favor by increasing your exposure to opportunities in order to be at the right place at the right time when it counts the most. 

1. Go To The Right Place

First, ideally you live in a startup cluster, as all the action is happening there. In 2021 not being physically there is not the end of the world, as a lot of action is happening in online communities (DAOs, Discord groups, subreddits, etc.). You can do volunteer and freelance work, get connected online and build your network in that way.

Yet, the truth is that not being at a cluster physically still presents a big opportunity cost. Socializing in person tends to produce a lot more serendipitous moments, which is important if what you are trying to do is to maximize your exposure to potential positive “black swan” events.

2. Build Your Network

Of course, startup opportunities come from people. For good or for bad, perhaps the biggest asset in the startup world is having a powerful network. Being able to find the right co-founders, partners, investors, mentors, and employees to a large degree determines the success of the projects you are involved in.

And the best and most sustainable way to build a network is to get involved. Working in the industry and actively participating in industry events is crucial in order to build productive professional relationships as well as a valuable list of acquaintances.

3. Build Your Domain Expertise

Last and not least, even the biggest opportunity is worthless if you don’t know what to do with it.

Your involvement in a failed startup project is far from a waste of time and effort. It will give you the right skill set to recognize openings and to execute at a high enough level to realize the potential of said opportunities.

Startup founders’ data suggests that experience in previous projects makes a big difference in the outcome of new startup ventures. And even though failed projects make less of a statistical difference, they still do.

In summary, you could argue that the reason persistence is key in the startup realm is that it gets you exposed to more opportunities and makes you competent enough to make use of them.

Even though as a startup investor this is more intuitive to grasp because you are involved in more projects, this is still true for founders or early employees – after all, in this industry it only takes one success to set you up for life.