IamNOTaCEO.com / @IamNOTaCEO
One Entrepreneur’s EPIPHANIES & LESSONS Learned…*
*...which would evolve into the "Origin Story" (Premises/Purpose/Prologue) to @CoFounderator - a Multi-Year, Multi-Part, Multi-Purpose "Master Plan" aspiring to address #StatusQuoBias in "Startups" and Early Entrepreneur Education...
ONCE UPON A TIME...
1. Like most entrepreneurs, I put “CEO” on my first business card. Also like most entrepreneurs, I once believed in The Tooth Fairy. In both cases, it took me years to realize my mistake… [to be continued]
My first "business" was "CRUSHING IT!"
*[At least on the product/content/viral/brand side - literally A MILLION FANS!]
So it was frustrating (and embarrassing!) that we were NOT crushing it as an actual "business" - in fact, we were losing money every month! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
2. “I’m Fired?!?” — After ~5 years of wearing all the hats as a solo founder, I made the (scary) decision to “fire myself” as CEO of my own startup. [#BestDecisionEVER] Six months later, we had raised $1 Million in funding; a year later, we were a profitable 7-figure company… [to be continued]
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ [Editor's Note]
The incredible difference between everything BEFORE and AFTER my #IamNOTaCEO epiphany began my fascination (borderline-obsession?!) with entrepreneurial #SelfAwareness (or lack thereof!), and the MANY related Problems/Pitfalls that MOST inexperienced entrepreneurs are OFTEN blind to (until YEARS LATER!), often evoking the all-too-common retrospective refrain: “I Wish I Knew THEN, What I Know NOW!” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
3. Strengths, Weaknesses, and #SelfAwareness — It took me way too long, but I eventually recognized that I’m GREAT at A FEW things… and I’ve recognized that I SUCK AT MANY THINGS… and I’ve realized just how extreme the differences are (progress levels, success levels, stress levels, etc.) between the years I’ve had a team (partners, co-founders, employees, interns) with skills complementary to mine vs. the years I haven’t...
[to be continued]
3B. Wait… Time-Out… Who ARE You Anyway?!?
Oh, right...
As creator of The Rejection Hotline® , 300+ Humor Hotlines, National “Get Over It Day”… and 50+ viral ventures (each individually reaching over a million people — and collectively engaging audiences of HALF A BILLION), he became a nationally-recognized authority on viral media and content creation. He feels awkward writing about himself in the 3rd person, so he will now switch to 1st person (and so will I)…
EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE: ~15 Years of Creating “Viral Whatever!”
My (relatively unique) experience/expertise includes:
A) Creating and analyzing potentially-viral concepts and content that will resonate with large/diverse audiences, intuitively recognizing/evaluating MANY factors (the art, science, math, psychology, mechanics, etc.) that impact virality, and differentiating an “idea” from an “IDEA+++” (idea + Vision + Viability + Viral potential + …
[more at ViralWhatever.com])B) Identifying #StatusQuoBias problems (and corresponding opportunities for improvement) — in startups, in products, in content, in marketing, pretty much everywhere. I estimate I’ve asked “But, why…” roughly 10,000 times.
4. From a small JOKE to a Million-Dollar Startup — The Rejection Hotline / Humor Hotlines / RH Brands… #MyStartupStory
5. The Stomach-Punch Feeling of Losing 4.75 Million Dollars…
Some PERSONAL Epiphanies:
6) My INTP Epiphany
7) My A.D.D. Epiphany
8) My Battle with BURNOUT!
9a) My Entrepreneurial A.D.D. — Curse or Gift?
9b) 80% Done… (I’ll typically get 80% done — with almost anything I’m working on — and then my brain literally stops me from finishing after the challenging part — and the dopamine-rush(!) — of solving a complex problem, conceiving a creative new concept with unique premises and innovative strategies, and working through multiple versions or drafts until the pieces all fall into place, the puzzle is solved, and… that dopamine-rush!!! Wait, what was I talking about?? Oh yeah, “80% Done”…
RIGHT BRAIN:
80% Done? → 80% D → 80-D → I am 80-D → I am AD-D → IamADD.com ?!?
I should totally buy that domain name!
LEFT BRAIN: But, WHY?!? You literally have 365 other domain names with unfinished plans...
RIGHT BRAIN: Yeah, but...
Dubbed “The Forgetful Founder” (by someone whose name he now can’t remember), he has now written 279 articles (on startups & viral marketing & entrepreneur education) that he has yet to publish, he owns 365 domain names for potentially-viral concepts he has yet to launch, his office is cluttered with boxes of inventory for 100+ products he has yet to release, and…
He possesses the most extreme traits (good & bad) of being extraordinarily INTP & ADD, resulting in a nasty habit of getting ~80% DONE* with [whatever], then getting bored or distracted (after the dopamine-rush of the initial challenge fades), often just stopping in the mi
ANYWAY…
Back to my core premises/philosophies for the “Master Plan” (that I will probably still be talking about launching from my nursing home when I’m 90)
ReThinking "Startups" - and #StatusQuoBias in Early Entrepreneur Education...
Multi-Part Master Plan:
PART 1: @500FailuresPROBLEMS/PITFALLS
& #FrequentFounderFailFactors
– Findings From a 5-year Analysis of 500 FAILED FOUNDERS!
PART 2: @PhilosoFounder
THOUGHTS/THEORIES
& Improvement Initiatives
– to #DiscussAndDebate (and, ideally, Demonstrate!) via:
PART 3: @CoFounderator
Cohort-based Community of
Project-based PROGRAMS,
Collaborative COMPETITIONS, and
EXPERIMENTS in Entrepreneur Education
#TransparentTesting of:
PART 4: @MultipleBaskets
10 "Buckets" x 10 "Baskets" x 10+ Parallel Products
= 1000+ #PursuitOfProof *P.A.C.A.S.M. Projects
*[Products As Content As Social Marketing]
#ValueBeyondSales #LearningWhileLaunching
#MultipleBaskets of Microcosms
#CompeteCompareCollaborateREPEAT
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
info@StartupWhatever.com / Jeff@StartupWhatever.com
MORE [whatever] COMING SOON! ~ info@CoFounderator.com to maybe work w/ us?