Founder Fuck-up Story #02: Ignoring the Vision-Ecosystem Fit

Welcome back for another round of my personal founder fuck-up story! If you haven't checked out my first mishap - My $4.5 Million-Dollar Wake-Up Call, you're in for a treat.

In the world of real estate, they have a famous saying: "three things matter - Location, Location, Location." Now, I won't parrot those exact words when it comes to tech startups, but I'll tell you this: location is a critical factor that can make or break your journey to success. Picking the wrong spot can slam your chances of making it big down by a whopping factor of ten.

Before we dive headfirst into my next fuck-up, let's take a moment to understand why location plays such a pivotal role in the world of tech startups.

Why Location is So Critical: the vision-ecosystem fit

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but here's the kicker: not every village can nurture a child into greatness. You want to be in the right village, the one where your child can receive the support and resources necessary to not just survive but thrive.

As a founder, that’s exactly what you want for your baby.?

In fact, this principle applies to anything big and audacious you aim to achieve. It all boils down to being in the right ecosystem. If you aspire to be a massively successful actor, Los Angeles beckons; for those venturing into a massively successful career in finance, New York City is the place to be. If a career in politics is your dream, you'll find your path in the capital city of your nation. Planning a massive manufacturing hub? China might be your ticket. (or India now too)?

I like to call it the "vision-ecosystem fit". When you set your sights on a vision, you need to find the perfect ecosystem to bring it to life.

Not being in the right ecosystem, on the other hand, can make your startup journey significantly tougher. Why, you ask? Because you'll require a spectrum of talent, a variety of investors, advisors, customers, partners—you name it! A well-established ecosystem can serve up all these crucial elements efficiently, while trying to scrape them together in the wrong city can feel like an uphill battle of epic proportions.

Now, let's address the outliers. Sure, there are tales of successful companies born far from the bustling hubs of innovation. Think Shopify in Ottawa or Atlassian in Sydney—remarkable stories, no doubt. However, they are exceptions, not the norm. Replicating that level of success from places like Ottawa is akin to finding a needle in a haystack, while hundreds of massively successful companies have sprouted from the fertile ground of the San Francisco Bay Area.

My Story

After completing my engineering degree at the prestigious IIT, I set sail for Edmonton, Canada, to pursue my master's degree. Little did I know that this adventure would shape a significant chapter of my life. Over the course of five years, I studied and worked in this new country, new city, and new culture. I had grown so fond of Edmonton that I affectionately began referring to it as my second hometown.

When the spark of LoginRadius ignited, I had grand aspirations of building a unicorn and later, I tweaked this vision to craft a billion-dollar success story right here in Edmonton.?

For those not familiar, Edmonton is known as an oil and gas hub in Canada. It's a fine place with wonderful people, but it wasn't exactly a hotspot for nurturing and scaling tech companies. The work culture and mindset were worlds apart from what I needed, and essential ingredients like tech talent, investors, and potential customers were scarce.

Here's where I took a nosedive – I failed to grasp the importance of the "vision-ecosystem fit." Restricting myself to Edmonton was a stupid idea. This oversight cost me three precious years, the opportunity cost and millions of dollar’s financial implication. It was only when I finally saw the light that I made the gutsy move to relocate the company to Vancouver. While it was a huge leap in the right direction, it still wasn't quite the tech paradise of San Francisco. As an immigrant, making the jump to SF was a daunting prospect at that time.

The Psychology behind my mistake: Smart Grit vs Dumb Grit

I'm drawn to challenges, especially the massive ones. They're like a shot of dopamine, a thrilling rush that fuels me every day. By building a billion-dollar business in Edmonton, I believed it could spark a transformative impact on the local economy and cultivate a substantial ecosystem for tech startups. As someone who thrives on giving back, this vision deeply resonated with my core values.

Now, when us entrepreneurs set our sights on something, it's like the whole world lines up to block our path. But we've got this incredible determination that keeps us pushing forward, no matter what. We call it "grit." But here's the thing: there are two flavors of grit – smart and, well, not so smart.

The line that separates these two can be incredibly fine. Dumb grit is that unwavering determination never to give up, while smart grit involves the flexibility to adapt and, when necessary, to let go. Grit manifests in various aspects of life, from launching small initiatives to defending our beliefs, building companies, and nurturing family relationships.

In my case, I failed to realize that I was driven by dumb grit, which kept me glued to Edmonton for three whole years.

It is always an important question to ask ourselves whether we are driven by smart grit or dumb grit.

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