Build the box: Why you should launch that startup
It is better for a concept to exist than to not.
If you’re faced with a choice to launch a startup or not, do it — regardless of its economics.
If your original business model works out, you make money. If it doesn’t, you gain valuable lessons, interesting contacts, and assets you can repurpose into a new venture.
Think of a startup as a box.
If you build it right, you can sell your box as-is to your intended audience.
But if the original concept fails, you can always rotate the box. You can repaint it, change the material, or change its contents.
You can line the interior with velvet, change the labeling, or spray it with a different scent.
Same box, new product.
It’s no different with startups. You might lease studio space to launch a photography business and make lots of money.
The business might also fail spectacularly — but maybe you’ll meet clients who need help with their media campaigns or a customer who wants a talk show. You already have the lights and cameras.
That home you bought to rent out on Airbnb might not get as many customers as you wanted. But perhaps its location makes it ideal for movie sets, or the lounge is perfect for an art studio.
Your content writing business might unlock a speechwriting opportunity for the president.
Your YouTube channel might reveal a passionate community you can monetize through events. You might even land a lucrative job offer.
Same boxes, new products.
Many would-be entrepreneurs agonize over their business plans. They assume that what they set out to build must happen exactly as planned — and take it personally when their business models fail. This is the wrong mindset.
Pivoting a business is natural — even expected — and we should always leave space for new opportunities to reveal themselves.
The very act of building the box changes you. It reveals your strengths, weaknesses, and insecurities. And if you enjoy the work, your time is never wasted.
If you launch a startup, your profits are potentially infinite.
If you never launch it, your profits are definitely zero.