First 3 months of an entrepreneur journey

3 months ago, I would have never dared to write and publish this article.

This is personal growth in my books. Is it a good piece? For sure better than anything of mine before it, and for sure worse than any of my next. But I celebrate the start!

All stories start not when the action starts, but they have an earlier inception moment. Mine started when I realized that corporate ladder is not interesting to me anymore. And I realized my dream is to do my own thing, but for the life of me I had 0 ideas what to do. Hence I gave myself until 45, to find what I want to do. I decided to continue in corporate as I was good at it, money was good and we wanted a life in Luxembourg for the kids until they go to university.

From that moment onward I searched projects and roles that would give me learning. Sounds good? Well years passed and I was feeling more and more unfulfilled. The roles were amazing, the projects the same, I had autonomy and was respected. I had people around me that I liked but still, something was missing.

Pandemic hit and all exacerbated… and this is where my real action started. I’ve read a lot, took coaching, did my first entrepreneurial project. The creative juices started to flow again, it was like a flood.

So packed with new energy and my 45 plan, decided to do a massive leap and leave a company where I felt at home for 20 years, a place that gave me financial security and move to another giant. My hope was to find a more entrepreneurial spirit, take some of my ideas and make them fly. But life has it’s ways and I ended up with a very toxic manager, hence the same question popped: why do I do this to myself? Push to fight in fights that are not my own… call it education, stupidity, care for others or high sense of morale, I tried to make it just, spoke up and burned out. No regrets here but still, this made me realize I want my thing and my tribe. And I leaped, resigned without a plan, a product or a customer list. 4 years ahead of plan.

Sometimes the journey feels lonely. But each time when I zoom out and look at how many people helped me in my journey, I once more realize how deceiving our brain can be, how it tells us stories that are not facts but a representation of our deepest fears and desires.

In these months I think at least 30 people were there for me: to teach me how to recharge, to heal, to open a door, provide feedback, talk about opportunities, listen and help. Looking back I think this is one of my biggest wonders, that majority of the people are inherently good, they will help if they can. You just need to ask for it or accept to feel vulnerable and be helped.

My biggest supporter, by far, proved to be my son. He is always there to listen and advice, to cheer and feedback, to give a hand or a push. Words cannot describe how i feel… I will not even attempt. I think all the parents out there will relate.

My second supporter is my business partner. She is an amazing human and deserves another article of her own soon.

But what your network will not do is your work. You are the writer and the sooner you acknowledge that, the faster you move. The moment I accepted this truth, it was the moment most of the seeds I have planted started to blossom. I guess there is a universal power that gives you nudges when you are ready to see them… I still remember that day: in the morning crying, mid day accepting I have to find my own power, and 3 emails in the afternoon confirming meetings and deals I was working for 2 months to get…

This journey of entrepreneurship, like any journey of change, is a journey of your own soul searching, testing your limits, discovery of new strengths, developing new skills, acknowledging deep fears. For me it proves to be also a journey of healing. In my drive to learn more about the humans around me and to find ways to be there and support, I created some magic for me too: I’ve learned, grew and reduced my emotional triggers. You know, those moments when you want to run or explode at something that looks insignificant to a stranger but to you is that sensitive spot that has been bruised for 1000 times… I have less of those spots now, more have healed….

So how did the 3 months go? If I would summarize them is experimentation and accelerated learning. The first learning is that it does not matter how good you think you are, or how bad for that matter. What matters is that you find ways to add value to the people around you. Bring them something that solves their problem, ideally fast. This sounds easy when you start: there are so many problems to solve… but the reality is that in these 3 months I am still searching for that one the hits the sweet spot of need, want and desire to purchase, the product-market fit. Hence intense experimentation continues with 2 strategic bets.

Once I exited the golden cage, I was shocked by the number of opportunities, practically the world became my oyster. Felt I was 20 again… It proves to be so hard to decide to limit yourself… and why would you do it?! Hence after 3 months we have 2 separate product lines to experiment, each with 2-3 products defined and long term visions. If I compare with an investment portfolio, this sounds like a good strategy, to diversify and build more than one income stream… This is strategic bet no 1.

All these ideas impact who you want to be, what do you want to be known for. How can I distil all these directions into a cohesive story that somebody will relate to? How is it not confusing? In the end there must be a way because there is a point that connects them all, and that’s me. I find that when you sell, people resonate with clarity, but when you engage personally, we resonate with vulnerability and our humanity. I have decided I am writing my own story. This is strategic bet no 2.

Will these bets pay off? Follow our journey and let’s see together.

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