3 Things Stray Goats and Entrepreneurs Have in Common

Originally published in Inc. on April 5, 2018

Most people think goats are cute animals that make funny sounds. But you might have more in common with them than you realize.

Last week I took my family on an incredible vacation to Maui, Hawaii. The day before we flew back to Los Angeles, we took a drive into Iao Valley State Park, a lush and mountainous rainforest on the West side of the island. On the way in, I spotted him: a stray, white goat near the top of a steep, near-vertical mountain. We pulled off to the side of the road in awe of this lone ranger, and watched him carefully traverse the mountainside for a few minutes. 

As we drove into the park, I mentioned the goat sighting to the parking attendant. "Ah, yes," he said, his mouth forming a sly smile. "That goat belonged to a farmer down the road, and one night, he escaped from the pen. He's been living up on that mountain by himself for the past three years."  

At that moment, I knew that this was no regular goat. This was a rare breed--a rebel goat; a diamond in the rough. It dawned on me that despite his goatly nature, I could relate to this wild beast. Stray goats are just like entrepreneurs, and we have more in common with them than most of us realize. 

Entrepreneurs are rebels.

Like the stray goat, entrepreneurs are rebels by nature. We don't play by the rules. We break the rules, or invent our own. We get tired of being in the herd. We are impatient, restless, and tempted to take calculated risks. From the base of the mountain, we look up at the peak, and without knowing exactly how we will ascend, say "Screw it: I'm climbing." 

We have an attitude, and when others tell us we can't do something, we are eager to prove them wrong. Sometimes we partner with other like-minded rebels, but we won't hesitate to make the journey solo.

We are lonely, but resilient.

The goat on the mountain was all by himself, surrounded by miles of wilderness. Being an entrepreneur is lonely. We have trouble relating to people who don't own their own businesses. Even when we are supported by a team, we are still singularly responsible for the ultimate success or failure of our business.

The weight of the world is on our shoulders, and the pressure is agonizing. In a single day, we can experience both the highest of highs, and lowest of lows. The rollercoaster seems endless, and our fears and insecurities are amplified at night when the lights go out. We have trouble sleeping.

Despite our isolation, we wake up day after day, week after week, and persist. We often find ourselves in a dark tunnel--sometimes for months at a time--and even though we can't see the light, we walk forward blindly, believing firmly that we will find it. We are resilient--we never give up.

We succeed like no others.

While my family was looking at up at the goat, he was staring down at us from the peak of the mountain. He could see the entire valley below him, including the herd he bravely left behind years ago.

When entrepreneurs succeed, we are rewarded in ways others can only dream of. The sense of accomplishment is exhilarating. The financial rewards for our hard work can be life-changing. Sometimes, we can change the lives of the people who work for us, and their success gives us satisfaction and pride.  

We look back at our missteps, failures, and the intense emotional and physical suffering we've endured, and realize it was all part of the journey. When we succeed, we know we have earned it--we feel alive.  

One day I will take my family back to Maui, and I will look for the stray white goat in Iao Valley. If I see him, I will salute him, for we are both masters of our own destiny.

Darren Marble is the CEO of CrowdfundX (CfX), a FinTech marketing firm that markets Reg A+ IPOs and security token offerings (STOs.) We provide our clients with the tools and resources necessary to execute successful and compliant offerings, while reducing the cost and complexity of acquiring both institutional and retail investors.

CfX marketed historic Reg A+ IPOs to NASDAQ (FAT Brands), NYSE (Myomo) and OTC Markets Group (Elio Motors). Our STO clients include KodakCoin and tZERO.