Without seeking truth it is unlikely you will find success. The truth very well might set you free, but it’s not always fun. People say they want the truth, but more accurately, they want the truth that is easy to hear. They don’t want the painful truths that don’t support our decisions or force us to accept we were wrong about something. But without truth, you will never be able to course-correct. Putting the company first and your bruised feelings second is an important step in saving your start-up from failure.
7 Quotes Tagged: start-up
Showing quotes in randomized order to avoid selection bias. Click Popular for most popular quotes.
If you make a mistake, don’t spend precious time and energy trying to deny it or point the finger at someone else. Be a leader and own it, then spend your time and energy fixing the problem. As I’ve already noted, start-ups often fail because founders want to be seen as the smartest person in the room, which means not being wrong. Making a mistake is going to happen. None of us is perfect. But the difference between success and failure is how you handle that mistake
Enhance Your Quote Experience
Enjoy ad-free browsing, unlimited collections, and advanced search features with Premium.
Start-ups fail for a lot of different reasons, but one I see repeatedly is ego. It presents as a dangerous sense of self-importance. Or the entrepreneur thinks they are the smartest person in the room who knows better than anyone else and either doesn’t seek out advice or doesn’t want to listen when it’s offered. Such know-it-alls delude themselves into thinking they have everything figured out, even though they don’t. For as hard as it is to elbow your way into the marketplace in ideal circumstances, it’s made exponentially harder when you don’t check your ego at the door.
If you make a mistake, don’t spend precious time and energy trying to deny it or point the finger at someone else. Be a leader and own it, then spend your time and energy fixing the problem. As I’ve already noted, start-ups often fail because founders want to be seen as the smartest person in the room, which means not being wrong. Making a mistake is going to happen. None of us is perfect. But the difference between success and failure is how you handle that mistake.
Works in ChatGPT, Claude, or Any AI
Add semantic quote search to your AI assistant via MCP. One command setup.