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Are You A Visionary Entrepreneur?

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While I like the sentiment, I don't completely agree with the distinction of Visionary vs non-Visionary.

He keeps using the example of Larry and Sergey at Google.

Well, in the early days they tried to sell the company for around $700,000 I believe.

That's not exactly "visionary" by his standards.

But nobody wanted to buy, so they stuck with it and eventually became visionary.

I think that's how it usually works. Very few people start out with the idea of "this is how I'm going to change the world." I know I'm not.

I want to change the world. I have ideas on how. However, my current business isn't it. And my next two probably won't be either.

What I really want to do will cost millions upon millions in startup capital, decades of experience, connections in the right places. I don't have any of that.

So my current goal is to make products that people want to buy. To make money. To get experience. To get the connections.

And one day, I'll follow my vision.

What requires that much capital, if you don't mind sharing?

Even in software, lots of things involving entrenched dinosaur industries - financial markets, electronic health records, etc. (but even billions of $ invested is no guarantee of success)

Biotech and private spaceflight. Two things that I absolutely believe will completely change the world.

But currently, very very high startup costs. I'm actually hoping that will change in the next decade though. Probably not very much, but prices should come down somewhat.

lionheart, are you secretly me?

Nope. I'm not a visionary entrepreneur at all. I don't want to change the world. While I want lots of growth, I try to minimize risk whenever possible.

All I want to do is create enough value for a certain group of people in my target market to solve a specific problem they have, make their lives easier, and build something they would be willing to pay for.

Is there room in the startup community/YC/getting funded for someone like me?

Agreed. Most companies that do well are started by people who are not "visionary entrepreneurs". I think the point is that having 1 on board can increase the likelihood of either building a really huge company, or completely cratering :) I.e. it increase the overall beta of the company.

There's always room for well-thought-out business models with founders that are able to execute.

Not every idea out there that has turned into a successful company is original and earth-shattering. It doesn't have to be.

Visionary is a retrospective label. It's also pop-culture meaningless. You can't, in the present, be "visionary". That's just silly (unless you're from the future).

I was only last week listening to Cory Doctorow interviewing William Gibson, and the GreatDismal was mocking himself being labelled "visionary".

Hindsight is, well, hindsight in retrospect.

I currently and feel I always will live my life by the Steve Jobs quote:

"It is the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, that actually do."

While I may never reach the goals I aspire to, I feel that is ok because it always leaves something to strive for. When I was in high school I remember telling my friends in a matter of fact way that I would make my first million before anyone in my senior class. I am not entirely sure if that's the case, but I had done so by the age of 22.

At 23 now I often find myself saying things like "I'll look to settle down and start a family only after I make my first $100 million."

Are these goals realistic? healthy? who knows ... All I know is that they are just that ... goals. They give me something to strive for and as long as I am aspiring to something greater than what I am, I feel I will constantly move forward.

Some people say this makes me crazy or eccentric, many wonder how someone my age who has failed several times manages to have such impeccable self assuredness. My answer almost always is "Succeeding may shape our confidence, but failing builds our character." While it sounds cliche I certainly believe if it were not for my failures, I would not have become half the person I am today.

I think most "visionary entrepreneurs" find themselves in similar situations. They refuse to give up, sometimes even after failing over and over again.

In my opinion THAT is what makes them great, it's not necessarily their ideas, or the people behind them, but the will to succeed and the downright stubbornness that causes them not to give up.

I think what you're getting at is that a willingness to sacrifice in order to achieve a goal is essential to achieving that goal. All greatness has a cost, of course. There are literally not enough hours in the day to have a normal life and achieve amazing things.

My feeling on the idea of greatness is that we need to keep things in perspective. There's nothing wrong with a person who doesn't want to risk their family's well being to pursue their dream. We all choose our path based on the cards we're dealt. Some people decide to go all in over and over until they get it right. If you've got a good hand, by all means go for it.

I take some offense at the age comment. I agree that when you're younger you have fewer bills so it can be much easier to live on next to nothing. But at 49, I'll match my burning desire to be on my own with anyone in their 20's and I'll win. I took jobs at larger companies to learn the mistakes they made and I won't make them, I'll make new ones, but they'll be mine. Good companies build on the shoulders of others, and I'm ready. To quote Ronald Regan, "A lot has been made about age in this campaign. But I don't think we need to spend time talking about my opponents youth and inexperience".

I dont think you need to be young. But I think it helps. I consider Reid Hoffman a visionary who views LinkedIn as his way to make a big impact on the world. He started LinkedIn in his late 30s.

However, in general, true visionaries tend to start companies young (Reid had a startup that did so-so out of school in the 90s)

I think true visionaries show the trait when they're young. Steve Allen said that if you're not funny by age 11, you aren't going to be. I think that applies to this topic as well.

I want to point out that Col. Sanders didn't start KFC until he was 60.

I think were youth helps is that as we get older many of us get "set in our ways" and that runs counter to the aspect that makes us visionary. Agree or not?

If you have to ask yourself whether or not you are, you're probably not.

I know I'm not. But I know people who are, and they're not all that concerned with the title of being a visionary. They're more interested in revolutionizing things, at nearly any cost.

Does it work to have two or more visionary entrepreneurs in the kitchen? Or is one good enough?

What should Joe the visionary entrepreneur do besides create a prototype, in terms of making connections early on?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/business/19entre.html

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