At the Think Big! Capital Factory panel discussion at Alamo Drafthouse Ritz Monday, Joshua Baer, founder of Capital Factory, asked a question about when is it time to quit doing a mediocre startup and work on something legendary.
Mike Maples Jr., managing partner of Floodgate, a venture capital firm, answered with advice that is not only good for startups but for everyone.
JOSHUA BAER: “I’m a first time entrepreneur. I’m working on some startup. It’s Uber for Uber. It’s not that next thing. I’m not deep down as passionate, as Brett said, about feeling like I’m saving the world. Do I keep trying to make this thing work to get some experience under my belt? Do I go find a startup to join? How do I get inspired so I want to go do that thing?”
MIKE MAPLES JR: “My view on this is extreme but I come by it honestly. I just don’t think you have that much time in this life. And I think that every day is a gift. And you should not squander it on anything other than things that you think are frickin excellent. People that you think are excellent. Ideas that are excellent. Things that honor the gift of your time. Your time to have a career in this industry will go faster than you can ever imagine. And if you only get involved with things that you think have a chance to be legendary and with people who are similarly legendary in their ambitions, you’ll get to enjoy it twice. ‘Cause you’ll get to look back on it and remember how awesome it was. I say this to people whether they are in a startup or whether they are in a big company if the thing that you are working on right now is not what you would define as the ultimate expression of your passion to be great and to be around great people and to honor the gift of your time, you got a choice to make. You can either fix it and make it great or put it on your stop do list and find something great. But I’m pretty extreme that way. But I just think that not enough people respect their time enough in this world and realize how little of it they really have. And I’d I rather fail trying to land on the moon and miss it slightly than just do a startup.”
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