Michael Jacobs’ Post

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AI Human Capital Development | UC Berkeley Faculty | CEO

I saw a rare example of bad advice from YC recently. They told folks that it doesn’t matter if you’re passionate about your company’s product / mission. While that’s fine from the #VC’s perspective, as lots of enterprise b2b applications are extremely profitable, which was their point. And their business is driven by repeatably successful actions. Growing a b2b business in their wheelhouse, with their network is definitely a successful and repeatable activity. However … most people should not even be an #Entrepreneur. Let alone a founder of a VC-backed startup. The lifestyle will make them miserable. To be a successful #founder, you need to be motivated to get up and work on your company 10+ hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s all-consuming. Usually for an entire decade. So focusing on a product and customers that you don’t care about … that will compuound the personal pain and build a personal hell. I’ve seen that happen to a number of my friends and associates over the years, even when they were seen as tremendous successes. Focus first on what matters the most … your happiness. That includes solving a problem that you’re excited about. But only if you’re actually an entrepreneur. Before you dive into being a business owner…figure out if that lifestyle is for you.

That perspective emphasizes the importance of personal passion in entrepreneurship. It's crucial

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Alex Pyatigorskiy

Chief Product Officer Digital leader in FinTech and Technology companies. B2C, Go-To-Market, Data, Transformation, Agile, AI, CX, UX, Product, Leadership, Innovation, Strategy, Growth hacking, Team, ex-Disney, ex-Veon

1mo

Building products without genuine interest is like trying to paint with your eyes closed. When you don't care about the problem you're solving, it shows in every decision, every feature, every interaction with the team. I've seen product teams lose motivation when leadership wasn't genuinely invested in the product vision. Even with perfect execution and strong market fit, the lack of authentic excitement always surfaces in subtle ways. Money alone is a weak foundation. The best products come from teams who deeply understand and care about the problem they're solving.

Andrii Ryzhokhin

CEO at Ardas | CTO at Sunryde | Co-Founder at Stripo and Reteno | Triathlete | IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells-La Quinta, 2023

3w

Indeed, Founder mode is one of those rare cases where money isn’t everything. Passion takes the lead. It’s what gets you through the long hours, and tough decisions. When you truly care about what you’re building, it fuels you and makes the journey worthwhile.

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