Spring Break
NO--Being an Entrepreneur--Well, Not Just Yet...
Choosing Stability in Uncertain Times
Max Cohen (OI), Harbus Board, Member/Contributing Writer
Issue date: 3/2/09 Section: News
"There is an infinite amount of money out there." HBS Professors are always stating: "Follow your passion, be an entrepreneur." But the reality of the situation is quite different. This is why I chose to put off my entrepreneurial ventures in these uncertain times.
For a guy who wants to start a Space Tourism company one day, my job choice for next year seems a bit strange: Associate at McKinsey & Company in Los Angeles.
It seems even more odd when you consider that over and over again during my Entrepreneurial Finance and International Entrepreneurship classes, superstar professors urge the class to just go out and start a company. Protagonists join the chorus: the founder of Pixamo told us this week that he offered co-founder positions to three HBS students in 2006 who turned him down for "safe" (ha ha) jobs at Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, and a Consulting firm - only to sell his company for millions of dollars within months.
Am I working for "The Man" next year because I do not have any ideas? Nope, that's not it. I have a folder on my hard drive full of various business plans, some of which are legitimate and will be revisited in the future, and some of which were created on too little sleep and will not be transferred over to any future laptops ("BlingAdvise" … you get the gist). I am doing an Independent Study and Research (ISR) project that could result in a very profitable website, I partnered with a great management team from a nightclub in New York on an idea for an innovative nightlife option in Las Vegas, and just this past week I began brainstorming a high-end adventure getaway that has everyone I have spoken to excited.
Unfortunately, I just could not bring myself to take that entrepreneurial leap… for now.
I honestly believe that being an entrepreneur is not a vocation, but rather a calling. You know you're an entrepreneur if… doing a search fund sounds incredible one day and incredibly boring the next. Seriously. Get the details once the initial euphoria washes off. You know you're an entrepreneur if… at some point someone suggested a "combination washer/dryer" to you and you thought, "Hey, why hasn't anyone done that yet?" (They have. It's a bad idea.) You know you're an entrepreneur if… your family members stay up until 1am reading, commenting on, and forwarding around your executive summaries despite the fact that the chances of you actually turning this particular idea into a business is less than that of Duke winning a National Championship this year (play some defense, geez!).
For a guy who wants to start a Space Tourism company one day, my job choice for next year seems a bit strange: Associate at McKinsey & Company in Los Angeles.
It seems even more odd when you consider that over and over again during my Entrepreneurial Finance and International Entrepreneurship classes, superstar professors urge the class to just go out and start a company. Protagonists join the chorus: the founder of Pixamo told us this week that he offered co-founder positions to three HBS students in 2006 who turned him down for "safe" (ha ha) jobs at Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, and a Consulting firm - only to sell his company for millions of dollars within months.
Am I working for "The Man" next year because I do not have any ideas? Nope, that's not it. I have a folder on my hard drive full of various business plans, some of which are legitimate and will be revisited in the future, and some of which were created on too little sleep and will not be transferred over to any future laptops ("BlingAdvise" … you get the gist). I am doing an Independent Study and Research (ISR) project that could result in a very profitable website, I partnered with a great management team from a nightclub in New York on an idea for an innovative nightlife option in Las Vegas, and just this past week I began brainstorming a high-end adventure getaway that has everyone I have spoken to excited.
Unfortunately, I just could not bring myself to take that entrepreneurial leap… for now.
I honestly believe that being an entrepreneur is not a vocation, but rather a calling. You know you're an entrepreneur if… doing a search fund sounds incredible one day and incredibly boring the next. Seriously. Get the details once the initial euphoria washes off. You know you're an entrepreneur if… at some point someone suggested a "combination washer/dryer" to you and you thought, "Hey, why hasn't anyone done that yet?" (They have. It's a bad idea.) You know you're an entrepreneur if… your family members stay up until 1am reading, commenting on, and forwarding around your executive summaries despite the fact that the chances of you actually turning this particular idea into a business is less than that of Duke winning a National Championship this year (play some defense, geez!).
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