Yang's early career was a series of stumbles: a failed startup, another company running out of money, and side hustles. He believes these repeated, smaller-scale failures toughened him up, building the resilience necessary to withstand the pressures of a presidential campaign.
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Early ventures that failed weren't seen as setbacks but as low-cost learning opportunities. This perspective, framed by his grandfather's high-risk business, eliminated fear and built foundational skills with minimal downside, making eventual success more likely.
The initial period of struggle and repeated failures, while painful, is what forges a resilient team and a strong, frugal company culture. These early hardships create shared experiences that define the company's DNA for years to come.
Yang made running for president feel manageable by framing it as a two-year, superhuman effort, similar to a startup sprint. This contrasts with the indefinite commitment of building a company, making the monumental task seem less daunting to an entrepreneurial mindset.
When evaluating senior candidates, don't view a failed entrepreneurial venture as a negative. It often indicates valuable traits like risk-tolerance, scrappiness, and resilience. These leaders have learned hard lessons on someone else's dime, making them potentially more effective in a new organization.
Resilience is not a learned trait for entrepreneurs but a fundamental prerequisite for survival. If you are still in business, you have already demonstrated it. The nature of entrepreneurship, where the 'buck stops with you,' naturally selects for those who are resilient and adaptable.
Seemingly costly failures provide the unique stories, data, and scars necessary to teach from experience. This authentic foundation is what allows an audience to trust your guidance, turning past losses into future credibility.
The vast majority of people and businesses fail because they break emotionally under the relentless pressure of failure. The key to success is not brilliance but emotional resilience. The winner is often the one who can simply stand to iterate on failure longer than anyone else.
John Zimmer doesn't regret the difficult times of building Lyft. He views those struggles as formative experiences that made him a more empathetic entrepreneur, parent, and husband. Hardship should be embraced as a critical part of personal and professional growth, not just an obstacle to overcome.
Kavak's CEO credits moving 14 times as a child for his ability to handle startup volatility. This experience taught him that fortunes can change overnight, both for better and worse, mirroring the entrepreneurial journey and preventing him from getting too attached to either highs or lows.
Finding entrepreneurial success often requires a decade-long period of trial and error. This phase of launching seemingly "dumb" or failed projects is not a sign of incompetence but a necessary learning curve to develop skills, judgment, and self-awareness. The key is to keep learning and taking shots.
