After reading the PMARCA guide about Why Not to Do a Startup, I realized that it gave many valid points that I had never really given thought to before.

One of the biggest reasons that people fail to create startup is because of how much work goes behind executing that idea. Obstacles such as hiring people to get your startup off the ground, leaving your 9-to-5 job to begin your startup and maintaining your life outside of the startup.

But I didn’t look at this as a deterrent. I looked at the advice in this article more as a warning about what you’ll face and what could lead you astray from your vision.

Many people also fail to ever launch a startup idea because they feel that their idea won’t be successful. Well at least I know that’s been a problem of mine in the past. It’s hard coming up with ideas that could potentially develop into something useful — but even harder actually executing those ideas.

But how I look at it now is that whether you sink or swim, all that matters is that you tried, because at the end of the day, you’ll just find yourself looking back at the past and regretting every missed opportunity. Which leads to the question: Why not you? Plenty of other people have done startup ideas and failed before they succeeded, so why can’t you?

According to the article another reason to not do a startup is because, “It puts you on an emotional roller-coaster unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.”

I believe this to be true because with your startup idea you first have to fully plan it out, then decide whether or not you’re going to have a team or not, etc.

After you get everything figured out, now it’s time to begin working on your startup and throughout the whole process there’s the unknowing of it all with whether your startup will be successful or not which causes unnecessary stress.

I think a good way to avoid this stress would be to write down dates of when you’d like to have each step of your idea done and if it’s not done by that time, you can push back the dates. There shouldn’t be a rush, you have to enjoy and trust the process.

The guide also talks about the the three things that matters to success: product, market, team. I think your team is the most important. I know a lot of people feel like they can do anything on their own, but the truth of the matter is we all need help sometimes. I feel like to be successful it takes connecting and networking with other people to help your business. Also I feel teamwork helps move the process along faster than it would by doing it on your own. 

However it’s also worth noting that a bad/ weak team is just as problematic as not having a team. When beginning to choose a team for your startup you have to look at the different perspective of your possible teams.

Some examples from the article are: people who make work fun, competitive workers, extremely focused, or global in perspective from the very start. These are all important aspects when picking your team. You should also observe their skills, work ethic, etc. early so you can see if that person will be detrimental to your team in the future. I feel as though you should pick your team wisely or as you choose, observe their skills, work ethic, etc. early so you can see if that person will be detrimental to your team in the future.