The Charlie Brown Theory of Commitment to a Startup

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Start-ups are hard. The odds are slim, and you’re more likely to run out of money than make it to a successful launch. Not to mention the stress.

But you already know that, right? Everybody knows that most start-ups fail, and that there are a hundred different risk factors to even trying. It’s common knowledge.

What most people don’t know is how exhausting it is. They don’t know because they can’t – it’s like giving birth or running a marathon – until you actually do it, you just can’t really know what it’s like.

So imagine going through the entire lifecycle of a start-up, which looks something like this:

1. You have an idea, shop it around, and get people to work with you.
2. You build something worth looking at, get some customers excited, and start talking to investors.
3. You raise some money, get more people excited, keep on working, and run out of money.
4. You try to hold it all together while serving your customers and trying to raise more money.
5. You raise enough money to go on for a little longer, and push desperately for some kind of breakthrough. (lather, rinse and repeat this step several times)
6. Finally you either sell the company for lots of money, sell it for just about enough to cover your costs, or shut it down. Either that, or you keep it going as a zombie company.

This whole process usually takes 2-3 years, and it’s the most exhausting 2-3 years of your life. So after going through this whole process, imagine the prospect of doing it all again.

If you’re like most of people, the appropriate response is: “Good grief!”

Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football…

Yup, “good grief” is an allusion to Charlie Brown, the Peanuts comic character.

For those of you who might not remember the recurring plot-line of this comic strip, here’s a refresher:

1. Lucy offers to hold the football so that Charlie can kick it.
2. Charlie remembers that every time this happened in the past, Lucy pulled it away at the last minute, and he fell flat on his rear end.
3. Lucy convinces him that this time will be different.
4. Charlie kicks the football as hard as he can, and Lucy pulls it away at the last minute.
5. Charlie falls flat on his rear end. Oh, good grief!

Charlie Brown has a lot in common with most entrepreneurs: he seems a little delusional.

I mean, really – doesn’t experience teach you anything?

“Fool me once, shame on you, but fool me twice, shame on me…” – Well, what about fooling me again and again and again? Then we’re past shame, and we’re into entrepreneurial Never Never Land.

Because that’s the reality – most start-ups fail – especially with first-time founders.

So why do we keep on trying? Why does Charlie keep kicking that ball?

What if Lucy DOESN’T move the ball?

This is the difference between entrepreneurs and other people. For other people, the risk is that the start-up could fail, or that Lucy could move the ball. They want to minimize the risk of getting hurt.

For entrepreneurs, the risk is that the ball will be there, and they’ll screw up the kick. They’re worried that the stars will actually align, and they might fumble the shot.

Because they know the truth: if the stars do align, there’s only one shot.

Entrepreneurs are sometimes told that they should try to move their project as a hobby, until it proves itself, as a way of minimizing risk. But the risk isn’t that they get into a project and it fails, the risk is that they don’t give the project the momentum that it needs to succeed.

That’s why Charlie Brown kicks with all his might – because if the ball stays there, he wants to make sure that it goes as far as it possibly can.

Not always the right time to kick…

The takeaway from Charlie Brown isn’t that you should keep on kicking and falling on your rear end – be intelligent about the risks that you take.

If you’re exhausted, or have tons of other things going on, then maybe now isn’t the best time to kick at that ball. Be honest with yourself – do you really have the energy for another 2-3 year engagement?

Speaking for myself, in the year after my first start-up imploded, the answer was definitely “no.”

If that’s how you feel, it’s perfectly all right to say that “this would be an awesome opportunity, if only I had the energy to put into it… but I just don’t right now, so I’m going to sit this out.”

The opportunity won’t wait for you, but don’t worry – a new one will be along soon enough.

…but if it is, give it all you’ve got!

No matter how badly you got burned in your last experience, if you’re a real entrepreneur, then sooner or later you’re going to get fired up again about a new business.

You will feel recharged, and instead of dreading the work, long nights, and crazy uncertainty, you will realize that you’re kind of looking forward to it all.

And if that’s how you feel, and remember that the chance at sending that ball flying is worth the risk of falling on your rear end.

Wind up, and give that football the best kick you can!

As an entrepreneur, can you relate? Does this sound familiar? Have you ever thought about starting a new company, but felt too exhausted to get started? Did you secretly feel guilty about that?