There’s always room at the top
The accountant laughed when we showed him our business plan, especially our fee structure. He believed his time was worth ten times ours.
Our peers laughed, virtually all expecting a failure of such proportions that our careers would never fully recover. Twelve months later, having stared at a telephone on day one, with no clients, we had billed one million dollars—the bulk of which came from an unsolicited referral to a client we had no plan to pursue.
We hired the accountant despite his skepticism. Peers wanted our secret or they wanted jobs. Many wanted both. I told them the secret.
Startup
Talent played a role. Our creative director was the best toy packaging designer in the world. We were unbeatable, but we needed to put ourselves in a position to be beaten, which required a commitment to sales—my job. Hardcore. Relentless. Methodical. Persistent.
Lucky.
Luck
More than anything, a little luck is critical. Every new company needs an unplanned break. No matter the business plan, the capitalization, the industry connections — no matter what — the universe must bestow a little luck.
One must be ferried on the fingertip wings of an angel. Any successful startup owner who believes otherwise isn’t telling the truth, or is oblivious to the angel.
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I found this underground artwork pasted to the outside wall of an abandoned corner store near the Chelsea gallery district in Manhattan. The chaos of too many hands, the twisted angel, the creative statement and all the moving parts immediately reminded me of the luck my fledgling company experienced.
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