Dharmesh of HubSpot Talks About Taking Risks To Start a Business
Risk Is Inherent To Entrepreneurship
Why do some people take the risk to quit their day job and start a business while others stay in the safety net of security? What sets those risk takes apart?
HubSpot recently ran a survey which found that67% of the people surveyed in the study have considered starting their own business,while66% of the people surveyed fear a lack of security and incomeif they quit their current jobs.
So 1 % of people who surveyed have overcome their fears.What makes that 1% unique?Why are they willing to risk it all for a chance at something better?
I decided to ask the man himself,Dharmesh Shahthe co-founder and CTO of HubSpot, what made him take the risk of starting his very first business (which was not Hubspot).
Dharmesh told me that he was well into an engineering degree when one visit to his parents in the U.S. changed everything:
Risk comes in many forms as we all know. Whether it’s leaving your home or putting all your life savings into a new project, there is always some type of risk which defines success a person has achieved.
It’s rare you see success without risk taking. I my experience it’s never the case.
Are You Willing To Take The Risk?
As an entrepreneur it’s sometimes sad for me to think that for the majority of people the closest they come to entrepreneurship are the dreams they have of quitting their day job.
However, there is that 1% in the HubSpot study thattakes the risk to start a business. These people overcome their fears and take the risk because what they are pursuing is worth it or they couldn’t live with the thought of a missed opportunity.
These people are entrepreneurs. They are startup founders. What is this process like for people? How do they reason about the risks?
I askedEmeric Ernoulta long time SaaS entrepreneur and CEO ofAgoraPulseabout the moment he decided to take the risk and start his own business, here is what he told me:
As we all know not everyone who takes a risk succeeds. Not everyone who takes a risk fails.The fact is that risk needs to be calculated and the reward needs to be weighed.
How Do You Overcome Fear?
Tim Ferrissonce saidin a TED talkyou should define your fears instead of your goals.
People often define their dreams and aspirations, while subconsciously letting their fears determine their decision to act.
Yet, some people are able to overcome this and push past the risk.
Here is what Dharmesh told me:
Of course it’s no easy task to face your fears.
Emeric of AgoraPulse put it a different way when I asked him:
Goals are the reward we seek – fear is the risk that can hold us back.
So how do you strike a balance between risk and reward?
Maybe Setting Goals Is A Waste Of Time…
A lot of people think that success is defined by the goal that we set and achieve – but is this really the case?
Here is what Dharmesh told me:
And here is how Emeric of AgoraPulse answered by questions about setting goals:
Dharmesh On Facing Your Fears and Taking Risks
If you’re at the edge and contemplating the leap, sometimes it is best to listen to those who have gone before you.
I decided to dig deeper into risk taking while chatting with Dharmesh Shah, he was able to shed some light on his journey to CTO of HubSpot, here is our brief Q&A from a few weeks ago:
Dmitry:
When you started HubSpot, what fears did you have? Did you define your fears or goals?
Dharmesh:
Dmitry:
When you decided to leave SunGuard to start Pyramid Digital Solutions, what fears did you have? Did you define your fears or goals?
Dharmesh:
Entrepreneurship Is A Tough Grind
If you want to join the minority that overcomes fear, takes risk, and pushes forward – then you need to accept the fact that it isn’t an easy road.
Many people have an idea that owning a business is easy, but just ask what happened to the90% of startups that failevery year.
You can’t get there without hard work and chances are that you will face failure along the way.
The difference between success and failure is the ability to keep moving forward.
Here is how Dharmesh put it toward the end of our interview:
Story byDmitry Dragilev
Dmitry single-handedly grew a startup from zero to 40 million page views through SEO and got acquired by Google. He has translated his know-(show all)Dmitry single-handedly grew a startup from zero to 40 million page views through SEO and got acquired by Google. He has translated his know-how into an SEO and PR coaching programPRThatConvertsand a software appJustReachOutwhich is used by 4,000+ professionals and entrepreneurs to pitch relevant influencers and bloggers to gain exposure and traffic. In his spare time he documents his experiments on his blogCriminallyProlific.
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