Ben Hatten

The Support System Needed For a Start Up

There are a lot attributes and things in place a founder needs for getting his or her start up off the ground and running it.  In my mind one of the most important things you need to have in place is a very solid support system.

My friends constantly make fun of me for how optimistic I am;  I can fine the silver lining in just about anything.   With that, the ups and downs I have experienced in the year running Legal River have been unreal.   You go from one day thinking nothing could be better to the next day having just an unreal low. 

One of the reasons I decided to do start something on my own was because I needed those ups and downs.  I worked for Gap at their HQ for a few years, and I grew incredibly frustrated realizing that nothing I could do would really affect the company.   My job was just a job, I would rarely think about it after I stepped out of the office.  Now I found other ways to find fulfillment, but I felt I was really missing out while working at Gap (all talk more about my job at Gap in a future post).  I was incredibly jealous of my friends who talked so passionately about their jobs.  Now with Legal River, it’s a complete change.  Signing up a new paying customer,  I’m ecstatic.   I think about the company nearly 24/7, thinking of ways to make it a success.   Therein lies the rub.

When you’re thinking about something that much, while the highs can make you feel borderline euphoric, the lows can be brutal.  Missing your projections, or not landing the deal you were hoping for, can just destroy your day/week.  This is the situation you have to protect yourself from.

I’m incredibly lucky to have a family, girlfriend, and co-founder who balance me out.   They both help me with keeping Legal River’s “wins” in perspective, but also help not dwell on the “misses” as well.  I know for me, not having them would make this hard process borderline unbearable.  So if you’re deciding to make a run of it,  which I encourage everyone to do, make sure you’re in a position to withstand the emotional rollercoaster.