Was it a spectacular failure?
Was it a spectacular failure??
We stopped our startup, Rwab6, a few days ago. I’ve been wallowing in sadness. It felt like there was no hope really.?
I want to tell you about the journey (past, present, and future), as well as, lessons learned and tips for those who are thinking about entrepreneurship in this piece of writing.
Before starting the startup:
The reason I started was because I wanted to do something more impactful. That has an effect on tens of thousands and hopefully millions.?
Part of the research I’ve done to decide whether to do entrepreneurship or not, I came across a few stuff like?
1- Multiple studies say +80% of startups fail. Also, entrepreneurship is an emotional rollercoaster. I love what Sam Altman said “With high highs, come low lows”
Resolution: I knew that the likely outcome was failure but that didn’t prepare me for how I feel about it. And what Sam Altman said definitely didn’t prepare me for the “low lows”
2- A study about success chances if you started multiple startups in life. I don’t remember the exact numbers but they were something like +80% succeeded in achieving +100K USD business valuation within 7 startups tires (about 10 years of trying or so).?
Resolution: this was supposed to prepare me to fail. Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t. I’m starting to stand up again.?
3- A study about the impact entrepreneurship would have if you quit your job for 1 year, started a startup, failed, and then went back to work. The average result was they would gain around 3-5 years of experience so they would increase their position much faster (for example if they were entry level, they would become mid-level. If they were seniors, they would become C-level)
Resolution: I felt the results of this firsthand. People started asking me for gigs or projects more, started asking me for partnerships in their businesses, offered me jobs…
I’ve had the opportunity to talk with decision-makers about more than 5 opportunities just in the past 7 days and that was after telling them that I stopped my startup.?
During the startup:
We tried multiple business models (5), and we earned +60K SAR (+16K USD) in a year and a half. We’ve met many great people in VCs and investments, entrepreneurs, experts, and great great people and I’m very thankful for all of their time.?
We needed to learn a lot so we spent a huge time researching books, articles, YC videos, and many other resources.
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We learned how to talk to customers, and how to reach customers.?
We learned how to negotiate, be data-driven, do project management, and hustling like there is no tommorow.?
We felt devastated, hopeful, thrilled, depressed, and a long journy of emotions.?
We thought about giving up so many times. We persevered.?
After the startup?
Rwab6 was the biggest project I worked on. My first committed startup.
I often feel like I’m smarter than most. Like I would be able to do better than them. Not being able to make Rwab6 work, humbled me and made me rethink that.?
As for what I will do next, it’s still early as we just stopped. I’m thinking about the opportunities around me and my wallowing will stop within a few days. If you have an opportunity for me, please reach out.?
Lessons and tips:
1- DO NOT EVER START A STARTUP. It’s the type of thing you don’t wish on your worst enemies. The only reason you would start a startup is because you cannot do anything else. If that’s the case, welcome to our brotherhood. I’m so sad for you and I hope the best for you.?
2- read number 1
3- read number 2
Additional lessons and tips:
1- starting a side hustle or freelancing is possibly a much better option. Something you spend 5-20 hours a week on that would bring you an extra income like a few thousands or maybe tens of thousands. Believe me, it’s a lot easier, less stressful, and with a much higher success chance than a startup.?
2- know what you want to accomplish, what is the problem you’re solving, and what are the ways to solve it. Understanding yourself would be a part of motivating you to work on the startup.
3- learn resourcefulness with your time, money, and everything you have. Find the 20% that have an 80% impact.?
Director of Micro Mobility-KSA @ Careem
1 年Hey Ridha A. It’s great how you opened up and shared your experience in public, only great leaders have the courage to do so. The way I see it is as follow: 1- You’ve been part of the 2% who are willing to sacrifice their lifestyles in exchange of building something impactful, that’s courage, kudos to that. 2- Think about the amplified experience you’ve gained in a very short period of time, I don’t think you can get it if you haven’t done it yourself. 3- The network, I’m 100% sure that throughout the journey you’ve made great connections and build a solid network of highly skilled professionals. Your personal branding got more equity as a result of that especially for the people who knows how to value! 4- ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? If you put your soul and mind into something and tried your best to make it happens then it didn’t, that investment hasn’t gone, believe me you will be compromised handsomely, it is just you’ve been choosen to do another great mission that has more impact somewhere sometime Was a great run, I’ve heard about your startup and I know how difficult this can be. Chill for sometimes, listen to your heart and you will know what to do next. Proud of you brother
ABM & Demand Generation | Empowering Startups & Mid-Sized Businesses to Efficiently Scale B2B Customer Acquisition
1 年Thanks for sharing your journey. It takes real courage to open up about failure as you did. Especially, on Linkedin, where it has become a culture to brag about and exaggerate even simple achievements. As you mentioned, most startups are meant to fail. And you knew it. It's hard, but the lessons you learned are priceless. See it as a Master in Real Life that no Ivy League can offer. Best of luck for the future!
Growing a Network of Raw Talents, Bootstrapped Startups & Ecosystem Enablers | Customer and user Experience + Digital Strategy
1 年Hey Ridha A., there's a bittersweet feeling when you fail and then move on to start something else. Its sad and thrilling in the same time, now that you're restarting with so many directions and options ahead of you. I loved what Rwab6 aimed to do for freelancers. Whenever you decide on your next venture, do let me know if I could help out in any way I can. ??
Strategy @ PS | Digital | Growth
1 年Redha...What a great learning journey you had! Looking forward to hear about your next great thing
Absolutely incredible. “Failure is life’s greatest teacher”, indeed. You have left an incredible impact throughout your first journey, especially on young visionaries like yourself. With your extreme dedication and interest in business, I’m sure it's a matter of time before you accomplish the success you desire. Best of luck Ridha ??