It's not over 'til it's over.. but when it's over, it's over.

It's so important to know when to push harder, when to let go and what your tradeoffs of decisions are. I think this applies to seemingly everything: relationships, jobs, and definitely this program.

The science experiment of strangers starting a business

The Next 36 takes 36 strangers and puts us in teams to start a company over 9 months. What I've learned about teams is that you have to trust them, like them, love them, enjoy them, and more than anything, you MUST be aligned in vision, values, and attitude. I was put in a team with two very brilliant guys, but where we lost each other was alignment. We had "pivoted" into a business that was not for me: connecting accounting software with payment gateways. For those of you who know me, there's nothing I hate more than accounting. This doesn't mean it's a bad business; in fact, it's a great business, they're solving a very material problem, and they'll make tonnes of money!

But even after I felt so strongly in my gut and heart that this business wasn't for me, I tried to push myself to stay because I didn't want to seem flakey, I wanted to "finish what I started", it wasn't over with this team.. I was going to make it work. In doing that I hurt myself and the team. The tradeoff of this decision was letting go of the opportunity to join another team where I could have greater impact and perhaps more importantly, be happier, which I've now done and it's the best decision I've made in the duration of the program (our website is www.glimpseglimpse.com). I respect the hell out of my old teammates, but if you're not happy in your heart I can't think of anything more important than making sure you are.

It's not over till it's over.. but when it's over, it's over.

When is the program over, really?

There are 26 days left, and sometimes it it feels like it's over already. Like things have been planted: the N36 has the teams that they love to showcase, the teams they've written off, you've made your impression and there's not much time to change it. But there are still 26 days! That's certainly enough time for a startup to take off or to fail hard, and you don't know until it's over. And it's not over till its over. On August 13, the program is over, but the relationships, friendships, and skills I've built will last much longer than that. Our team is committed to pushing our business forward hard until until the very last day and beyond.

It's not over 'til it's over.

You don't have to be Apple to fix big problems

Thanks to the word "pivot" (which is really when your business failed, and you started a new one/took a dramatically different direction) it feels like a business, and especially your entrpreneurial career, is never over. I've realized that to me, entrepreneurship is a state of mind and a way of looking at the world. Always seeking problems and solving them.

Yesterday I was telling someone how it frustrates me that my music is all over the place (between spotify, hype machine, songza, and more) and he told me that only Apple could solve that problem. It was at that moment I realized how much this program has changed my life, because I thought f%&! that, I'm gonna solve it! Even after the program is over, my new mindset and outlook is forever.

It's not over.