There are many qualities that you need to succeed as an entrepreneur. But there is one that almost everybody would agree on. You’ve got to be resilient. The road to success is long and has countless bumps. Only a few entrepreneurs have the courage, patience and endurance to go through it. This is why 9 startups out of 10 end up failing. It takes several years to build a successful business. And the first 3 years are generally the hardest.
Seth Godin, in his best seller book called “The Dip”, illustrates this concept. He argues that most successes are preceded by a period of setbacks that only persistent entrepreneurs can overcome. Put it differently, my guest Jay Winder says “you can’t fail if you never quit.” Jay is the founder CEO of a company called MakeLeaps simplifying the way companies manage invoicing.
As a foreign entrepreneur in Japan, he’s been through this long and painful process of making a business grow. Today he counts over 18,000 clients and has become a reference in the Tokyo startup ecosystem. In this podcast episode, he shares his experience and talks about the role of resilience.
He also argues that when you run a business, you spend 80% of your time selling you product and asking for money. In doing so, you’ll constantly have people saying “no” to you. This can be a painful experience. But if you want to become an entrepreneur “you’d better get used to it” he says.
Jay shares his best pieces of advice which should inspire any entrepreneur, rookie or experienced.
Check out the Japan Venture Show for more episodes on entrepreneurship and the startup scene in Japan.
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