Desperation Level – Do you Measure Business Partners on that?
There are people and there are ‘desperate’ people – who do you wanna work with?
Be it about partnership or be it about hiring an employee, do you evaluate one’s desperation for success, before inking the partnership?
In the last few months, I have met a good number of people – either for a professional partnership or just a general chit chat and have got mixed feelings about choosing a partner.
To cite an example, few B-school students (from premiere college) approached me for a specific project and while we worked on the details, I couldn’t see any significant passion in them to carry off the project (they actually backed off later citing study pressure etc), while I met these young chaps who were from Tier-III B-school and were really ‘desperate’ to be known to the outside world.
These ‘Tier-III’chaps, even convinced the college faculty to start off an e-cell, in order to get students more exposed to the industry (good start, if not the most ideal). I instantly connected them to couple of startups who were looking for ‘cheap’ (read: free) interns and now, one of them has even got a PPO, i.e. pre placement offer (nothing great to work for an unknown firm, but maybe this unknown startup makes it so damn big that their Tier-I counterparts will end up working for them).
Big B - Desperate for Success (maybe that's why he is still around)?
‘D’ for Desperation
This is insanely true for finding one’s business partners as well – including advisors/mentors. You might have all the big brand names, while in reality they do not have ‘anything to prove’ to the world – so they will just hang around (and eat your equity).
Coming back to the question – if you are part of a big brand or have built a big brand, is your desperation level the same when you move on to the new new thing? On the contrary, if you aren’t part of any big brand and have an intrinsic motivation to succeed, don’t you go out and get things done? With certain level of desperation?
Do you judge partners/potential cofounders/employees on their ‘desperation’ level also?
For finding employees for startups, isn’t this a valid use case? I see many startups struggling with hiring rock stars, especially when the definition of ‘rock star’ is based on one’s paper credentials (and past success). While, if you hire somebody from Tier-II college, their probability of joining you is quite high (they even stick longer, maybe till they really find their self-worth!). [read: Zoho’s hiring strategy]
There are enough arguments on both sides of the table – but does an early success impacts one’s entrepreneurial streak (in some cases, it does bring a sense of ‘I know it all’ attitude) ? Or rather, isn’t it one’s intrinsic desperation/motivation level that makes one tick in this competitive world?
Would you partner with a failed entrepreneur than the one who has made it big? For one who has failed earlier (assuming he has an intrinsic motivation to make it big in life), a lot of things are at stake – reputation, life, peer pressure (though none of this guarantees success!).
Most importantly, do you/your partners have the same ‘desperation’ parameters? You could be looking for money, while your partner wants more fame! – so think about it.
What’s your opinion? Do you measure your partners (i.e. employees/advisors/cofounder) on their ‘desperation’ level (and parameter)? If yes, how?
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Good one, Ashish. Ok, I’m getting desperate
Seriously, its true that credentials matter for startups less than both the desire for execution, and conviction to follow through.
Usually, the motivation is stardom, and will-anyway-get-enough-money-with-funding and things go downhill from there.
- Sameer
Desperation is far more powerful than inspiration, which is even more powerful than motivation. This has been my experience.
People desperate to get successful, and who are waiting to take the right path (however hard it is) is the best find for partner/employee etc.
Am yet to see mentors who are desperate and who help!
Excellent post… Many start-ups can remember this post at the back of their mind.
A nice article, but what’s the conclusion?
None! Each one to himself.
There is no black of white in real world – it’s all ‘messed up’
Genius: one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
Thomas Says so .. very true ..
actually hardly any startup look for desperation or entrepreneurial stink while hiring. achievement and degrees matter more here. one of the interesting article i came across web is http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/24/got-degree-envy-no-worries-you-can-still-make-it-big/
Desperation is a word with generally a negative connotation….It is rooted in the word despair, which indicates helplessness.
I would personally talk of passion to succeed than any kind of desperation…
Good article Ashish. I’ve experienced this right from college days to my now-entrepreneurial days. I’m from IIT Roorkee (yeah your super-junior!) and during the fests, I noticed how driven the “Tier II” college students were, who invariably did very well in the events. For them, to get a prize/certificate from an IIT was a big thing. I’d rather hire tier II students who show promise, than hire IIT passouts who think they’re awesome just because they’re IITians, and “deserve” everything they want rather than wanting to “earn” it. (I’ve dealt with both kinds, btw).
I believe we have to reformat the famous quote to “Desperation is the mother of invention”
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Good one Ashish.
Good post Ashish – You bring out an interesting dimension – I have seen this as a control lever that can be faked or exercised in tough sales negotiations; It is indeed a tricky balance for those who use this lever effectively – from either side of the fence!
Never saw this post before. It’s always desperation, frustration that brings out the best. When success comes over, people give it the name of inspiration, to provide that positive connotation to the effort. I love reading this one man.