Against the Current: The Parallel Journeys of Rowing and Entrepreneurship

“It is hard to make that boat go as fast as you want to. The enemy is the resistance of the water… But that very water is what supports you and that very enemy is your friend. So is life: the very problems you must overcome also support and make you strong in overcoming them.” - George Pocock, Boat Builder

For the past year, I have had the privilege of teaching at Drexel University's Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship, standing in front of future founders, creators, executives, teachers, and more, to share information, insights, and experience on early-stage companies and the entrepreneurial mindset. I have also had the honor of working alongside some of the brightest minds in academia with extraordinary people like Donna Marie De Carolis, Ph.D., Barrie Litzky, Chuck Sacco, John H. Wilson, PhD, and Damian Salas, just to name a few.

In addition to practical experience and theory, I look for ways to bring a little of my own life back into the classroom.

There are no shortage of rowing metaphors for business as it relates to teamwork, synchronicity, alignment, and communication, but for those of us who like to row alone (single scull), I can't think of a better metaphor for what it feels like to launch a business.

Embarking on the journey of founding a business is akin to rowing a single boat against a relentless current, seated backward, where your oars serve not just to propel you onward but also to maintain your equilibrium.

In this endeavor, you face away from the future, only able to see the waters past, much like an entrepreneur must make decisions based on the knowledge of what's already occurred, while the unseen future lies ahead, hidden from view.

Only for brief, fleeting moments do you have time to glance over your shoulder to check what's ahead, ensuring you are still on course.

Each stroke of the oars through the resisting water represents the calculated choices and actions a business owner must make, pushing against the economic tides and competitive undercurrents.

Your oars, like your entrepreneurial strategies and efforts in business, must work in harmony to keep the boat stable and on course, knowing well that imbalance could mean capsizing in the unpredictable waters of the market.

The journey is grueling, demanding persistence and strength, embodying the relentless drive needed to elevate a business from a mere concept to a thriving entity despite the unseen obstacles that lie beneath the surface.

Just as the rower must anticipate the river’s resistance and prepare for unseen winds and debris, the entrepreneur must be ready to confront unforeseen challenges and adapt their strategy, all while keeping the forward momentum that ensures progress, however gradual, lonely, (or painful) it may be.

Although water can cause resistance, it also embodies the essence of help and support — essential, transformative, and life-affirming.

As far as my own experiences in the boat, I have fallen into the Schuylkill River twice, and I have fallen out of the boat many more times as an employee and entrepreneur. In each instance, I've had to flip the boat back over while treading water, climb back in, recover, row slowly back to shore, and start again.

Just as single scull rowers consider taking on a partner in the boat, many of our founders are considering taking on a co-founder in business. My advice to close out this long metaphor, make sure you know yourself before bringing on a partner in the boat or business. Alignment only comes when there is an 1) an awareness of oneself, 2) an acceptance of oneself based on this awareness, and 3) an alignment of one’s behavior with this awareness.*

For those of you who want to learn a bit more about rowing, I highly recommend the wonderful book, The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown .

Please consider reaching out, and joining me in the classroom, studio, or on the river. If you fall in, I promise I'll help you back in the boat.

*The Importance of Awareness, Acceptance, and Alignment with the Self: A Framework for Understanding Self-Connection, Europe's Journal of Psychology https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8895697/