Viata de dupa olimpiade (partea III)

Mircea Pasoi
06 februarie 2012

Acesta este al 3-lea post (si ultimul) din seria “Viata de dupa olimpiade?”. Citeste si partea 1 si partea 2.

Startup

Despre ce e vorba?

Startup-ul este optiunea a 3-a despre care n-am stiut ca exista pana cand n-am citit eseele lui Paul Graham si pentru care n-am gasit nici un exemplu in mediul olimpiadelor romanesti... Exista startupuri de succes si in Romania, dar nu stiu nici unul care sa fi pornit din acest mediu.

Personal, cred ca sa ai propriul startup o provocare total diferita fata de optiunile #1 sau #2. Multa lume crede ca e vorba de bani, dar ai probabilitate mult mai mare sa faci bani in industrie ca angajat. E vorba de libertate si de a schimba lumea in bine:

“We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?” - Steve Jobs

Suna bine, dar e mai usor de zis decat de facut. Este de departe cel mai greu lucru pe care l-am facut vreodata in viata. Sa iei o medalie la IOI? Un fleac comparat cu a avea propria companie:

“People say you need a lot of passion for what you’re doing, and it’s totally true, and the reason is .. is, because it’s so hard, that if you don’t, that any rational person would give up”. It’s so hard to be successful, and it needs to be sustained over such a long period, that if you don’t love it – you’re going to give up. Any sane person would.” - Steve Jobs

Este greu fiindca totul se misca foarte repede, este haos continuu, trebuie sa lucrezi aproape non-stop, iar fluctuatiile emotionale sunt ca un “roller-coaster” - intr-o zi crezi ca esti “the next Google”, in a doua zi ai impresia ca o sa dai faliment. Intr-o perioada foarte scurta trebuie sa inveti foarte multe, sa evoluezi personal si profesional si sa-ti impingi limitele cum nu ai mai facut-o vreodata - supravietuirea companiei tale depinde de tine!

In acelasi timp, a fost si cea mai satisfacatoare experienta din viata de pana acum:

“They may be very good engineers, or sales people, or marketing, or execs. But they ain’t entrepreneurs. They’re just resume gardening and they’re really no different from everyone else.
I don’t care if you’re a billionaire. If you haven’t started a company, really gambled your resume and your money and maybe even your marriage to just go crazy and try something on your own, you’re no pirate and you aren’t in the club.
That thrill of your first hire, when you’ve convinced some other crazy soul to join you in your almost certainly doomed project. The high from raising venture capital and starting to see your name mentioned in the press. The excitement of launch and…gulp…customers! and the feeling of truly learning something useful, you’re just not sure what it is, when the company almost inevitably crashes and burns.” - Michael Arrington