Haters gonna Hate

I recently had an angel friend tell me that I was stuck in selling mode. That I had no real passion for entrepreneurship and that I was simply riding a trend. That I was no different than the banker, consultant, MBA type (he has an MBA) who sees "easy money" and fame. It took everything I had to not say FUCK YOU and walk out of the meeting...that and I hadn't finished my breakfast yet that he was paying for #BootStrappin.

With the exception of this rant I've valued his mentorship, feedback, etc but this is a case where I think he's rushing to judgment. I graduated in January 2010 and immediately resumed my work with Encore Redevelopment where I was the 3rd hire and played a critical role in their pivot to renewable energy, as an intern. This was my first real opportunity to be an entrepreneur other than the small hustles I did throughout High School (Red Sox nation wristbands come to mind). After this I tried to start 2 companies, helped several more, and eventually landed at Zipcar. I quit that job to learn to code, pursue Upstart funding, and ultimately get back in the startup game. I saw it as more of an investment as I now have sales experience and have seen the belly of the corporate beast. All of that said, I'm not sure where the gap is between my messaging and his perceived reality.

The reality is I think by selling he meant I'm talking to much with not enough action. This is a problem I identified awhile ago between my Linkedin title (Aspiring Entrepreneur) and my general use of forward thinking words. I've since stopped and no longer say "I'm hoping to build a company" because the reality is I am. I built a site overnight for my bootstrapping work consulting SMBs with their Macro Inbound Marketing strategy. I went through several iterations of my application for Upstart which I'm hoping launches later today. I'm helping launch an incubator in my hometown and recruiting applicants for those college sophomores/juniors interested in a paid coding internship. Finally - I'm building a team to pursue the first of many ideas I want to build because a team will ultimately get it done faster than I will with my codeacademy training.

The reality is I'm done worrying about how people perceive my abilities. I know what I can do because I'm doing it. If they're too busy, lazy, or ignorant to look at the evidence, that's on them and I can't change it. Note, one thing I am still working on is being less negative when i write...it's just so hard when there are so many people looking to knock or drag you down. That's why they say, Haters gonna Hate. So keep hating! I'll keep building :)