As I plan ahead for a new week, I look up to what feels like a huge mountain to climb. One that I've tried to climb, unsuccessfully a few times before.
I've been prepping to attempt to raise capital for a big and bold idea. The idea is not new. It is something on which I've been working on since 2005. An idea that started in a napkin (yes, I still have it stashed somewhere), while me, my father and my friend Richard brainstormed over dinner and merged our vision together into what eventually became the NAAP Software.
I'm not going to go into the business details of it, but let's say that although we were able to develop from scratch, what has been called by some customers, the "Mercedes" for Telecom Asset Tracking and have sold it in over 10 different countries (including the one am most proud of, New Zealand!), it has been a rough road. We have had many "hits and doubles", but no Home Run yet.
The truth? We were way ahead of the market. Thanks to our core business, we saw the need that a software like the one we developed would solve, and we went for it. 120%. Throughout the years, I tried to raise capital several times, but investors, couldn't 'touch" our vision. They wanted us to be "this" or "that", and to me, the winning formula is precisely in being a bit of both. I'm sure that if I asked Jeff Bezos how many investors were able to "touch" the vision he had for Amazon when he founded it as an online bookstore back in 1993, I would feel in good company. We have been approached to sell our software at least 5 times, but we realize that the journey traveled, the iterations, the learning points are what gives value to where we are right now. The ability to know the intimate details of the journey, intimate details that are only learned by walking it step by step are what makes the "secret sauce". Like in life, wisdom comes from the experiences lived, from trial and error, from getting in the water even when its cold, and by sticking to your vision even when no one around understands what you are trying to do.
Amazon went to countless iterations to be what it is today. It took Mr. Bezos persistence and conviction to keep moving the ball forward. It takes one look at the first amazon office to understand that only when you stay loyal to your vision and your gut feeling, the magic happens. That doesn't mean that you don't course correct, adjust and embed new knowledge into your vision. That's indeed when the magic happens. That's what people mean when they say that each failure brings you one step closer to success, because, without persistence and failure, there's no success. If people are calling you crazy, you probably have a disruptive idea in your hands. Don't dismiss it right away, get curious about it, and go explore!
So, here I go again. I might or might not make it, but I am excited to try again. Excited about the possibilities and excited to have the energy and mindset to iterate our idea, once again and to keep persevering.
Is there anything that you have been trying to achieve but hasn't happened yet? Today seems like a fantastic day to start trying again!
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