Before You Get Yourself Into This

A young friend reached out recently for advice on starting a business. He purchased a property and now needs years of corporate work ahead to pay for it. He wanted to know if building something on the side could be his way out.

I told him it's probably his worst option.

Before I explain why, let me ask you: Why have you chosen the builders route?

So I Can Have Financial Freedom

I always hear that you'll probably make more money as an employee than as an entrepreneur, but I had my doubts. I mean, all the founder pictures with arms crossed and cheesy smiles announcing rounds of tens of millions of dollars make it look so easy.

Easy Come Easy Go

In just two months of ad placements on Sarahah, we made around $200K. How much do I have of it now? Zero. With high traffic comes high cost: servers, an experienced developer who can protect Sarahah from the million hackers and spammers attacking us. Let's assume I was a wiser founder and managed my expenses well. Founders' salaries are usually symbolic, and their equity gets diluted with every funding round.

So back to my friend, most startup success rates you'll find are 10% or less, so why take such a risky option to bail yourself out of an already tough situation?

Compare being a founder to a job with stable salary that increases significantly with each promotion, plus allowances, bonuses, and other benefits. If you're wondering why I didn't stick to this path after the Sarahah drama, hold on.

Everyone Around Me Has a Business (aka It's Trendy)

You might expect me to criticize this trend, but honestly, I see it as a double-edged sword:

How Can It Be Useful?

Small businesses benefit economies significantly and they're a great school for communication, management, and many other skills. You'll also get a crash course in emotional resilience 😁

How Can It Hurt You?

Other than the financial risk above, entrepreneurship has a lot of superficial stuff that can make you feel, falsely, successful. From calling yourself "CEO" on day one to big numbers that don't really mean anything. This ego boost really stops you from learning and growing as a real leader. And honestly, this field has way more disappointments than wins. I've met entrepreneurs (and experienced it myself) during the crashes; the anxiety and stress are intense.

So I Can Have Creative Freedom

True, working on your own project gives you freedom that can't be compared to working in corporate jobs. You can execute your ideas immediately without "management approval" or worrying about "company direction." And if you're at an early stage, you can even stop or pivot the project whenever you want.

This is actually one of the most realistic reasons to start a startup. But:

Protect Your Freedom 💪🏼

Some things you might do early can hurt your freedom:

• Closing a funding round too early
• Choosing a co-founder who's attached to the idea (not the bigger problem or the partnership)
• Partnering with big companies or government entities
• Long-term client commitments (especially B2B), like annual contracts

To Make an Impact

You're awesome :) One of the things that keeps you going despite the many challenges you'll likely face building your project is having a big goal and ambition (no, I don't mean being featured in Forbes 30 under 30). Startups really can create massive impact, whether on your country's economy or the whole world.

This is your chance to revisit your idea: how do you expect it to affect people? Does it solve a problem for them or waste their time?

None of the Above... I Love the Adventure

After facing a big challenge at Sarahah, we had to let go of all the employees, and I felt guilty. Even when we had a chance to hire a new team, I was really scared. I told this to an investor friend I'd gone to for advice. His response:

Don't worry Zain, what these guys learn working with you in a few months equals 10 years at big companies.

True. In a few months at Sarahah, I experienced things like press interviews, working with global legal and tech firms, and for the first time: stayed in a hotel room alone (this one is real but don't tell).

Back to the investor's words. I did hire a new team, and after another challenge that shut down the company completely, I saw he was right. Every employee we had got a job offer, including the interns. Just a word of advice: make sure you're not quitting your job or studies to take this journey. Not every startup gets a honeymoon.

If you're still in, there's one more thing I want to tell you:

The Entrepreneurship Virus

A while ago I saw a video of some old guy saying: "Entrepreneurship is a virus. Once it gets in your head, it never leaves."

I completely agree. When I shut down Sarahah and went back to my earlier job, I lasted two weeks. I annoyed my manager trying to speed up my resignation. I knew I didn't want to continue in corporate, but after years of moving between jobs in multiple cities, I discovered the issue was bigger. I caught the virus that guy talked about, and I just can't handle corporate jobs anymore.

Enough Thinky Thoughts!

You might be wondering why I didn't start this newsletter with product tips, hot stories from Sarahah, or growth techniques. Because once you're in motion, pressing the brakes to think about the bigger picture becomes 10X harder. And these "thinky thoughts" are exactly what I return to when things go south.