The following tweets might not be a perfect intro for our "I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now" discussion (because I'm not sure Michael is lamenting that he wishes he'd known it), but it is simply a good illustration of things that you often won't think about until you personally experience it - even if it's something that has been experienced by MANY before you and will be experienced by MANY after you... (because this is how we feel about many common Founder problems!)
Over the past 2 years I've watched many of my friends become slightly more disillusioned all at the same time. At first I thought the cause was politics or Covid. But after thinking harder I realized that we are all entering middle age (most of us are 36-42 years old).
— Michael Seibel (@mwseibel) February 8, 2021
and...I think in middle age people start questioning whether the goals they strived for in the 20s/30s have actually resulted in their happiness. This seems like a very healthy exercise but it does make people a little more grumpy/pessimistic than they used to be.
— Michael Seibel (@mwseibel) February 8, 2021
Its funny to me how something that is so common still takes people by surprise (it certainly took me by surprise). But such is life.
— Michael Seibel (@mwseibel) February 8, 2021
Our challenge will be some combination of A) educating young entrepreneurs and convincing them of the problems they can't yet see and/or B) creating solutions with enough OTHER value to the young entrepreneur that it doesn't matter if they see (or believe) ALL the bigger-picture/longer-term problem-solving we're providing.