Don't be an Asshole

For some reason, a successful entrepreneur has become portrayed as a hostile person who doesn’t budge for anyone and considers nothing but the endgame. The obsession behind this bitter interpretation is everywhere, from movies to social media. Our lives are seemingly littered with the bad guy winning, when quite the opposite is true.

I want to clarify: there is a distinct difference between someone who is an asshole and someone who is just driven. One views nearly every situation as a fight to the death, thinks that every situation only can benefit one party, and are consumed by the all-mighty dollar. The other is able to define their problems and act with clarity, able to recruit the best team possible even if they are better than themselves, and are constantly trying to improve their world.

It seems as if the asshole entrepreneur is an outdated portrayal from times when everything was scarce. Resources of all kinds were constantly being fought over and the most forceful came out on top, regardless of method. Look at the world now though. If you’re hungry for a burger, you don’t have to pillage the village nearest to you for their meat. You’re able to drive to the nearest restaurant or grocery store and get what you need to satisfy your cravings. The same holds true with our current economy, our resources that we held so dear before no longer are extremely scarce. It doesn’t make sense to be extremely aggressive and burn bridges you’ve created to meet your endgame.

We don’t live in a zero-sum society anymore and this is especially true when it comes to the entrepreneurship and startup communities. The way to succeed is not by fighting to control scarce resources, but by transcending the established ways and innovating to create completely new things.

I must admit; I didn’t always have this mindset. When I first started working on my idea for a startup company, I thought that I had to bully my opponents into submission and force people to take my idea into consideration. That never worked. I had a zero-sum mindset; thinking only I could win. What I came to realize was that people from all walks of life can help you, but often it is better to help them first. That’s not to say that you should only help others in expectation for help in return, but to simply do it out of goodness. You’ll be surprised how much this can help you in the long-run.

Most of my opportunities have come from people I had helped previously. They asked for simple favors or advice and often yielded incredible returns in the future. You can create a community of helpful people that can help each other by extending a supportive hand. You’ll see the benefits of this type of community as you progress, as everyone becomes more successful they are more able to help each other and it’s honestly a beautiful thing.

In the Birmingham, Alabama area, the tech and startup communities are tight to say the least. For me it all started in an English course at my college. I helped my professor construct a few desks for his new office space and we got to talking about what our passions were. I expressed my endeavors exploring the startup community and he immediately offered a way into the scene in my city. From there it was sort of like a ladder of help. With each person that I encountered, I offered support and help in any way possible and they helped me climb the ladder in return. Now I have a little community of support that is building on itself daily, with each person able to vouch for my character and dedication to the greater Birmingham area.

These sorts of relationships are invaluable to me. Having countless individuals that are comfortable enough to express concerns about your product and ask for help are rare. Making sure those people fall in your target market can make those rare relationships even better. You now have the human resources to accurately assess the validity of your ideas and make a product that your first 100 users love.

Next time we will cover why it’s better to create a product that 100 people love than a product 10,000 people are just willing to try. 
-Memento Mori