How I Built This summary

Daymond John’s mother booking the ad in the New York Times that ultimately led to FUBU’s financing round is just one example of how critical your support network can be to your start-up’s success.

Humans just don’t do as well on their own. We’re social animals. We live in groups and we work in teams. Ideas go farther when we work on them collectively, involving everyone who loves us, from our family to our friends – and especially our cofounders.

So you scored a check for $1,500 from your Aunt Karen, and a bit more from your cofounder’s sister, an investment banker. Great work.

But that’s not enough. Not nearly. No offense, but you probably also don’t have all the smarts, experience, support, and mentors you need. There’s no need to throw in the towel, though. It just means you’ll have to get crafty. 

Maybe you think entrepreneurship sounds OK so far. You start a company with your best friend, get some money from Aunt Karen, eat a bunch of ramen, and the next thing you know you’re Elon Musk. 

That’s simply not how it works. Entrepreneurship is far harder than it is easy. It’s unnatural for most people. But there’s one point at which it’s harder than all the others: when investors aren’t calling you back and no one is buying your product. When the uncertainty just gets to be too much. This is what Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham calls the trough of sorrow. Most entrepreneurs don’t make it through. 

No one is immune to catastrophe, especially people in charge of companies that are doing well. Increasing success and sales numbers mean taking on more risk. No matter how careful you are, something unpleasant is bound to happen. And regardless of whether it’s a mistake you made or an act of God, as the company founder, you’re going to have to deal with the fallout.

In 1981, Tylenol accounted for nearly 20 percent of the profits of its parent company Johnson & Johnson. Both brands were thriving. But then, in 1982, someone in Chicago tampered with Tylenol bottles, ultimately poisoning seven people with cyanide. 

The scariest part of entrepreneurship isn’t what you think it might be. It’s not failure. Actually, it’s success. 

This might sound counterintuitive. But think about it: If you’re constantly striving for something, at least you have that vision to work toward. Every day feels like a battle for survival, so you’re not thinking so much about the long game.