\u2018Pretty damn good\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nAsking that question was like a slap in the face. It made me relook at why I wasn\u2019t feeling my business anymore.<\/p>\n
I felt it because I had lost sight of the purpose. My \u2018why\u2019. But really it was just about pain. The Struggle.<\/p>\n
Pain is a feeling that can cloud out judgments. Remove this emotion from the decision process first, or at the very least see what you\u2019re feeling for what it is. Pain in that moment.<\/p>\n
The \u00a3100,000 question allowed me to realise this.<\/p>\n
That insight gave me the wake-up call I needed motivation, to roll up my sleeves and dive back in.<\/p>\n
Back to the phone call<\/strong><\/p>\nSo back to my phone call with the founder who called me. I told him this story and asked him the $1,000,000 question.<\/em><\/p>\nHis answer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\u2018Pretty damn good\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nWhat about you? Ask yourself the question: If you closed a $1,000,000 deal this week, would you cares about the purpose of your business go away?<\/em><\/p>\nIf the answer is \u2018yes\u2019, then just realise that what you are experiencing is pain. In my experience, just seeing it for what it is, allows you to deal with it better & will probably give you a new sense of motivation.<\/p>\n
However if the answer to the $1,000,000 question \u2018no\u2019. Then perhaps this second reason will resonate for you.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ej6wemg7wiw.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/pexels-photo-67448.jpeg?strip=all&lossy=1&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n
2) Wrong Mountain<\/strong><\/h2>\nFast-forward almost 12 months. Our business has turned a corner. Our revenue had just grown 300% in the year, we\u2019re profitable and had just signed a term sheet for our largest ever investment round.<\/p>\n
The $1,000,000 question no longer applied. Not anymore.<\/p>\n
But my feel of not enjoying what I was working on had turned from a whisper in my gut, to a SHOUTING VOICE!<\/p>\n
This is similar to climbing a mountain. You spend years, climbing a mountain that (especially if it\u2019s your first time starting a business) you have never seen the above the tree line.<\/p>\n
And you climb. Constantly trying to figure up the best way up the mountain, focusing on fixing ropes, making sure ice picks are hitting the ice correctly and making you have enough oxygen for you and the team.<\/p>\n
You spend 5 years of climbing the mountain; you\u2019ve established basecamp & advance camps. For the first time in years, you stop to look around you. You look around and realise that, although you\u2019ve learnt a lot about climbing, you\u2019re on the wrong mountain The mountain you want to climb is across the valley.<\/p>\n
Reasons for you\u00a0feeling you\u2019re on the \u2018wrong mountain\u2019 may vary:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Perhaps you started with a vision for a business and you pivoted into a solving a problem or serving customers you\u2019re not passionate about<\/li>\n
- It could be when you started climbing the mountain all you wanted to do was learn how to climb. And now you can climb, you\u2019ve learned there\u2019s a certain type of climbing you like the most, and that type of rock is not on this mountain.<\/li>\n
- Maybe you can\u2019t spend another night in a tent eating tins of spam (the canned food, not the email kind \ud83d\ude09 ) with this particular climbing team anymore<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What do you do?<\/strong><\/h3>\nKeep climbing? You feel you\u2019re 2\/3 the way up after all.<\/p>\n
Or do you let the team go on and you head back down, cross the valley and start climbing the other mountain that you think is right for you. Yes, you\u2019ll start from the bottom again, but this time you know how to climb and you\u2019re confident that is the right mountain for you.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the right answer? There is a right answer I believe, but I can\u2019t tell it to you. Because the only person who can tell you the right answer\u2026.<\/p>\n
\u2026.is you.<\/strong><\/p>\nHowever, I\u2019ll suggest some options that may help:<\/p>\n
You decide to keep climbing? <\/strong><\/h3>\nGood for you.<\/strong><\/p>\nYou probably won\u2019t be as happy as you could be for the next while, but somewhere you have made the choice that the trade-off is worth it.<\/p>\n
Keep climbing!<\/p>\n
You decide to go back down this mountain and start climbing (or even finding) your right<\/u> mountain?<\/strong><\/h3>\nGood for you.<\/strong><\/p>\nTwo options:<\/p>\n
1) You start exploring exit options. Maybe there\u2019s someone who would pay to get to where you\u2019ve reached on the mountain. You should definitely explore this.<\/p>\n
2) If that\u2019s not an option, you decide to leave the team to finish the climb on this mountain and go down yourself. Just make sure the climbing team will be in good shape without you and get going.<\/p>\n
The right mountain for you awaits you. Excited for you!<\/p>\n
You realise you\u2019re on the wrong mountain but you can\u2019t decide which is the best thing for you?<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis one is a bit more difficult.<\/p>\n
Or at least we make it more difficult for ourselves.<\/p>\n
Reality is\u2026.<\/p>\n
You already know the answer.<\/p>\n
The real question is, what\u2019s holding you back?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy biggest piece of advice to you in this situation is this:<\/p>\n
Whatever you decide, your decision gets easier the moment you make it.<\/strong><\/p>\nSummary<\/strong><\/h2>\nBeing an entrepreneur is hard. Sometimes you\u2019ll be on different parts of the rollercoaster. Sometimes you may feel like you want to quit. You\u2019re not the first person to feel this way.<\/p>\n
Firstly find out if it\u2019s just short-term pain by asking the $1,000,000 question, or if it\u2019s deeper issue.<\/p>\n
Getting that clarity is the first step.<\/p>\n
Then you\u2019re in a better position to make the right decision for you.<\/p>\n
How about you?<\/strong><\/h2>\nAre you thinking of leaving your startup? If you\u2019re struggling with this decision, I\u2019m guessing you\u2019d love to chat to someone about it.<\/p>\n
Feel free to reach out to me: howard (at) startupremarkable.com , or ask any questions in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was Valentines Day earlier this month. Seems fitting the timing of this post coinciding with it. Since I spoke about my decision to leave Adludio, the mobile advertising startup I cofounded in 2012, I\u2019ve had a lot of people have reached out to me to tell me about their story how they\u2019ve fallen out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
How To Know When It's Time To Leave Your Startup - Howard Kingston<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/howardkingston.com\/know-time-leave-startup\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Know When It's Time To Leave Your Startup - Howard Kingston\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It was Valentines Day earlier this month. Seems fitting the timing of this post coinciding with it. 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<\/p>\n