Are entrepreneurs the rockstars of biz world?
This has probably become an age old topic among the startup circuits of most parts of the world and I'm sure it'll probably be that way for many years to come. Over a period of the last 10 years or so, ever since Web apps, mobile ecosystem, emerging technology and social media sprouted all over the globe, the stardom and the "rockstar status" of entrepreneurs has been quite the talk of the town everywhere you go.
They get millions of dollars of investments, acquisitions, funding, trips to different parts of the country or world for business, events, awards and become popular by the code they write for products that change the world for many people. That doesn't seem anything less than being a rockstar, if you ask me. Of course this is the obvious and most certainly used analogy when it comes to explaining how and why anyone would even think of entrepreneurs as rockstars of today's business world.
Of course, why shouldn't it be that way? There are many similarities between both the breeds. Take for instance the fact that there would have been a time when both of them started out of a garage or creating art from their homes, the former practicing his new song on the guitar the latter writing code or building something innovative that will probably be the "wave of the future". Or for that matter, the lack of support when they began and slowly gaining more than just their fifteen minutes of fame scalping success inch by inch to reach a goal that changed everything that they could have ever thought of, not just for themselves but for the entire world around them.
The self-belief if nothing else and the backing from the close friends, founding employees, co-founders kind of like the support rockstars get from band members, friends and the very first fans they acquire. This is what helps them to keep going even when the entire world considered them to be those square pegs in the round holes or the misfits or rebels as quoted in the "Think Different" ad by Apple back in the day.
The cost cutting, taking budget cuts, maybe two or three jobs to keep driving their passion and keeping their dream alive is something that's synonymous with both of them. Well, I'm sure the lean startup philosophy and its principles are known to both rockstars and entrepreneurs especially during the early stages of their ventures. It's their much needed formula for their success later on.
No doubt, both of them have talent and self-belief that they will be the successful people that they've visualized themselves to be. But truth be told, is a true Entrepreneur just a 'rockstar?'
Well, the answer to that question is probably dependent on how you look at the perspective. I'd say, yes, of course, today's tech entrepreneurs are most certainly the rockstars that many aspire to be. With so much popularity on the tech scene and so many perks as well as benefits including the stock options, revenue and the satisfaction of being millionaires and billionaires in a short span is quite a pursuant career option for many.
But, I believe, those who have been there and fought it out in the school of hard knocks of the entrepreneurial life, would certainly know, that there's more to it than just the status quo that goes along with the perks of being that rockstar entrepreneur.
Unlike rockstars, there's a lot of the thinking not just the creative bit but also the mundane and the nitty gritty ones that the entrepreneur must think of. There's always constant pressure that has a lot more impact than selling the next record or album albeit, musicians have the same amount of pressure from record labels probably if they get signed on, just like entrepreneurs do from investors.
But being an entrepreneur means a lot more when it comes to the expectations of teams and scalability that comes into the picture. A lot of times, entrepreneurs have to live on shoe-string budgets with the sole dream of going out there and waking up without the luxury of waiting for that "creative me-time" that rockstars could get.
Of course, getting to the rockstar stage of life means that you are in the public eye, as always, however a single move at times could make it or break especially if your company is in crucial stages such as funding, listing or product launch amidst competitors. A lot of the things look hunky dory on the outside, but a true entrepreneur and a rockstar both know how difficult things could be on the inside... And that is what makes them just more than the "rockstar" they aspire to be.