The Profit Prophet

As many who start up a company begin with a great idea, with a laser focus; it seems as soon as you get started, you start to get distracted by other priorities, or begin adding additional features or strategies for no apparent reason other than to please as many people as possible. As Bill Cosby once said, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone." With that in mind, there is a great Hindu epic from the 3,500-year-old Mahabharata, one of the three sacred texts of Hindu, that tells of a story about the five Pandava brothers: Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. These brothers where the great warriors of ancient India, and one in particular, Arjuna, has a fantastic story of purpose and calling in the Bhagavad Gita . But that is another story.  In any case, this story begins with the brothers' archery teacher's instruction on aim and targeting. The master ties a wooden fish to a tree branch over a basin...

While starting a company has never been easier, the same facts still remain.  Most close in six months, and only about 10% will ever get to a break even state.  Still, here are some interesting facts about tech startups (hardware, software or internet based). First, most are started by 1 or 2 people; second they spend less than $1,000 per month on development, and if they make it past 9 months, have a good chance of making it a year.  I hope the infographic below adds some additional light on the subject.

We often ponder why we are here and what is our purpose.  What is it for and why certain people come and leave or lives while others become what I consider hold dear and I call “friend.” I think this story might help with how to see life as a train ride.  Life is like a journey on a train...with its stations...changes of routes...and accidents! At birth we boarded the train and met our parents, and we believe they will always travel by our side. However, at some station our parents will step down from the train, leaving us on this journey alone….but not quite. As time goes by, other people will board the train; and they will be significant i.e. our siblings, friends, children, and even the love of our life. Many will step down and leave a permanent vacuum. Some will move to a another car for awhile and come back. Others will go so unnoticed we don't realize they left their seats! This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hurts, hellos, goodbyes...

Although we in the US believer our brand of capitalism is the best in the world, other countries actually practice a form a capitalism that is right for them.  I thought to show how, an explanation of how the rest of the world sees capitalism using cows as a metaphor would be in order. I hope this makes you more internationally aware of how Adam Smith's invisible hand is a work. TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM: - You have two cows. - You sell one and buy a bull. - Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. - You sell them and retire on the income. AMERICAN CAPITALISM: - You have two cows. - You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder ...