Why Parents Make the Best Entrepreneurs
Think about startups, and you might conjure up images of Erlich from Silicon Valley and trendy offices that talk about how cool ping-pong tables are … ah, to be young and hip (as I sit here in my bamboo pajamas nursing a seltzer on a Friday night). But I think parents are the real MVPs when it comes to starting a business, and let me tell you why.
“If you knew nothing else, and you had two identical ideas, one proposed by a very young person, one proposed by a middle-aged person, and that’s the only thing you have to go on, you would be better off — if you wanted to predict success — betting on a middle-aged person,” Pierre Azoulay, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management at MIT Sloan (via VICE magazine)"
Embracing Change
Parents know better than anyone how quickly things can change. One minute your walking into Target with your little bundle of joy on your hip and the next your dealing with an EPIC blowout and you didn’t bring any spare outfits…
Startups are like unpredictable babies; they can throw curveballs at you, and parents are some of the best people to adapt to them. I cringe when I hear people say, I’m just a mom or a dad I could never be an entrepreneur…. Because they DO have the right skills.
They can Multitask like a Mother (or father!)
Have you seen a mom have a conversation on the phone, while making lunch, and helping to address an “urgent” need from a very irrational toddler? I have and it’s impressive! Parents are great at doing multiple things at once and when you start a business, you usually are taking on a bunch of roles! Being able to multi-task and switch gears quickly or pivot is such an advantage in the startup world.
Selling a Story
Who can sell a story better than a dad trying to get his kids to do something he KNOWS they won’t like? “Hey Ben, did you know this medicine actually tastes really good? Look at that purple color… I bet it takes like bubble gum!”
As an entrepreneur, you’ll need to sell your pitch to investors or customers, and parents have an uncanny knack for crafting a meaningful story. I can’t value this skill enough; no matter where you are in your entrepreneurial journey, this is something that you’ll always be honing and developing.
Spilled Milk
Any parent will tell you it’s no use crying over spilled milk. And they are right! Parents are such resilient people and we know we shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. This is the mindset you need as an entrepreneur. You’ll have highs and lows and you need to be able to brush off the hard stuff and keep moving forward.
How to Get Started
When I started Figgy, I was a mom of 5 kids, one of whom was an infant. When I raised our first round of capital, I was 4 months pregnant with my sixth. If I had let the naysayers win, Figgy wouldn't exist! I think being a parent was one of my superpowers when launching Figgy because I knew what I wanted as a parent and what kids would enjoy playing with.
There are always barriers and things in your life that can lead you down the path of "it's just not the right time.". But spoiler alert... there is rarely ever the perfect time!
One of the easiest ways to dip your toes in the water is to connect with your local entrepreneurial community. A simple web search will usually yield results that include meetups, incubators, accelerators, and coworking spaces. Meeting like-minded people is free, and you can learn a lot!
