Theres a Dutch saying that goes Op een roze wolk zitten.
Or in English, to sit on a pink cloud.
Its used to describe someone whos euphoric.
Nobodys actually perching on a wad of candyfloss-colored cumulus.
Starting your first company feels like riding the pink cloud.
Anticipation, mixed with fear, loaded with excitement and possibility.
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Lets ask some serial entrepreneurs.
His latest venture, Talk360, is enabling wifi-less communications across Africa.
But between the years of 2010 and 2016, Hans first company Brooklyn Ventures churned out 10 different startups.
It was during this time Hans realized something was missing.
A few of those businesses lacked real purpose.
They just existed to make money.
There was nothing I could explain to my kids back home.
The definition of purpose changes from founder to founder.
My approach to business isnt vertical.
Friends with entrepreneurial benefits
Teams that get alongdo better work.
That doesnt mean a team full of your mates will be a resounding success.
Dare to hire, but dare to fire too.
I would have dared to hire different kinds of people, but also let go of certain people too.
Thats not to say you shouldnt hire people you like.
But you also need to look at whether these people can work together as a team.
Hans recommends giving the old bootstrapping technique a whirl.
I was immediately dependent on them from day one.
It was a total mindfuck because my attention was focused on paying them back, not the business itself.
And once youre ready to spend someone elses money, dont do it all in one go.
Hans has a sweet little analogy for poor money management.
Wed get a little slice of funding and spend it all.
It was a total nightmare.
His current venture, Solarge, builds flexible polymer solar panels.
But back in the day, Jan and four colleagues founded a healthcare startup.
Unfortunately, this was in 2007.
Investors and customers turned their backs a year later, during the global market crash.
We were too early, Jan explained.
To have it spot on, thats everything.
Thats not to say good timing should be at the sacrifice of decision-making.
Theres always a reason not to do it.
From the outside, traditional employment looks more secure than entrepreneurship.
And just look at the impact of COVID on hospitality; it came to a complete standstill.
That sense of certainty people are looking for doesnt really exist anymore.
Running a company that doesnt energize you.
They get trapped in the daily grind.
You have to find fun in what youre doing, you should probably be excited by what youre doing.
Thats what motivates you.
This is echoed by Camiel, a self-confessed late bloomer in the startup world.
Camiel cites fun as the thing that keeps entrepreneurs hooked.
If you let it become just another job, youll fail.
The amount of time and energy that goes into a project like this will never be paid back.
Take fun out of the equation, and theres no point doing it.
According to Camiel, there are still benefits to being a fresh-faced founder:
New founders are called naive.
But when you start a company thats exactly what you should be.
People love to tell you all the downsides.
But if we listened to everyone who ever told us thats not possible, we wouldnt have any entrepreneurs.
The Dutch startup ecosystem still has some maturing to do.
Startups spring up like tulips, but scaleups are few and far between.
Theres one thing first time founders need to know: it gets easier.
All you better do is start.
