I was forwarded an article, “It’s Supposed to Be Hard. You’re Changing the World.“, by one of our great mentors in the CSUF Entrepreneurship program, Gardnar O’Brien, and it couldn’t be more spot on. Written by Tomasz Tunguz, a venture capitalist at Redpoint, the article makes it clear that no matter who you are and how much experience you have building a business from scratch is not for the faint of heart. It takes grit to change things.
From the article:
It’s a startup. The company’s goal is to change the world, quite literally, by building a product, evolving user behavior, and sometimes creating a category.
It’s hard. It’s meant to be hard. You’re changing the world.
https://tomtunguz.com/its-supposed-to-be-hard/
What little I can add to this is that this is true for all entrepreneurs. Whether you are starting a business that can be the next trillion dollar tech behemoth or it’s a side hustle you are at some level changing the world. And not only changing it but moving it forward; small, incremental steps towards an unknown, but hopefully better, future.
For example, our alumnus, Anthony Abdelsayed, is working on a side hustle that will bring a product that makes it so people do not have to directly touch door handles and other items as well as to help people who have grip issues to the market. It may not seem like a big thing to you (why not just wash your hands?) but to the people who purchase this item it will bring them peace of mind, help them gain greater access, and help them lead happier lives.
If you look at it through that lens, that you are changing the world, it does help to keep you positive during those times when you would rather give up.
CSUF Entrepreneurship
We are dedicated to helping the next generation of entrepreneurs develop the skills that they need to compete locally and globally. The CSUF Entrepreneurship program does many things,