It’s weird how the human brain works: there are hundreds of thousands honest startup stories to be told, but I only listen to the glimmering billion dollar successes. I only compare my own endeavours with the ones of Zuckerberg’s and the Systrom’s, desperately reading their lessons to apply them to my own companies.
I remember being the first week of having conversations with investors – somewhere in 2012 – of one of the most insecure periods in my life. The anxiety and the insecurity these talks arose in me; I hadn’t seen any of that when acquaintances easily raised rounds of a million dollars or more.
But of course, they’ve felt the same. It’s just that as soon as they raised that money, their companies became part of the global and sunny startup myth.
That’s why I love this new Startup podcast series by Alex Blumberg, who was a producer for This American Life and as co-founder of the business-economics series Planet Money. He wants to build a company for quality podcasting and shares his journey – conversations with his wife, awkward negotiations with his co-founder and a disastrous pitch session with Chris Sacca – with his listeners.
It’s intimate, recognizable and brave. Hope it helps you too.