Written specifically for Steem.
Stages of Companies :)
I am the co-founder of a company with around 80 staff members in a first world nation and my co-founders and I were able to build this up in 4 years without outside investment.
Now that my company is considered a real “business” by the business community, this gives me the opportunity to meet many different entrepreneurs or solopreneurs. Although there is no set standards, there are stages of credibility based on the number of staff you have and this has a bigger impact than mentioning profit ratio to your average entrepreneur. The first stage to cross is having more than 10 staff and after that is around 25 to 30 staff. The third stage is probably around 50 and then 75 to 80.
The fifth stage to take it over is 100. Since my company has made it to the fourth stage, people are more eager to either listen to me or the most likely outcome is feel intimidated based purely on the stature of the company - I am an non-intimidating looking Asian guy!
False Ego of New Entrepreneurs / Those without a Secure Business
One thing I have noticed is that the lower the stage you are, the more inflated your entrepreneurial ego is. One example is the person talking boldly about their expansion and as soon as they hear about my company size, they start to lose their mojo. I know they have a false ego based on the recent growth of their company and the moment someone “bigger” comes along, the insecurities that come from not having a core self identity becomes obvious like a nose hair sticking out.
The reasons are varied and would be hard to say without meeting a person, but starting your own company is risky and people often do not receive the strong support of those around who are not entrepreneurs - and therefore do not realize the rollercoaster of happiness, self-doubt, and fears. Since they have all this weight on their shoulders and have the potential to have it collapse at the same time, they have a false ego that has a false sense of exuberance and positivity and this comes off as overvaluing their self worth based on the recent successes of their company.
On the other hand, they have an unbearing pressure to succeed and avoid having those around them passionately waiting to rub their failure in the entrepreneur’s face. The fear of failure and the fear of those around you making fun of you or thinking you are a loser is a real fear among entrepreneurs. I have often seen this in companies with CEOs who received millions and millions in investment capital, but were still in the stages of creating a profitable business.
Overestimating Skill and Abilities in the Success of a Company
Another phenomenon is that people overestimate the newly found success of their company upon one’s own skill and abilities. Although I am proud of what I have accomplished and believe that our company has a strong and loyal core team that has helped build it to where it is today, I cannot underscore the important fact that we had the right idea at the right team which helped to stir up the fast growth we are experiencing.
If the idea had come 2 years before we started or now, it would have been much harder to achieve rapid growth despite having a loyal, committed, and intelligent team. I would even go as far to attribute 70 - 80 of our success due to being lucky with timing.
It becomes very humbling when you accept the fact that you had the right people, at the right place and time to make the idea happen. This helps me to enjoy the moment and appreciate what we have.
I personally recommend listening to entrepreneurial fail stories as opposed to success stories because success stories often under represent how much timing matched and the fail stories can give you an idea of exactly what NOT to do if you happen to have the right business idea at the right time.
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