Zoomin.com is the 5th new business I've been a part of (3 of my own smaller companies, and Half.com), and one dynamic has remained consistent throughout: the Roller Coaster.
The Roller Coaster, described very well here by Marc Andreesen, is the grind of emotional highs and lows that you experience on a day-to-day basis in a startup. Some days you feel as though your company is destined for greatness or riches or both, and other days the anxieties about cash flow, competitors, and timelines make you feel like you're holding a 1st-Class ticket to nowhere. Zoomin.com is no different, to be honest, but when you have a solid team and a clear goal, the good days out-number the bad days.
Right now, we're close to Launch, and we're sweating the small stuff. My own mental ball of yarn is wound a little tighter, and finding a reasonable stopping point each day (work/life balance, of course) is getting more and more difficult. The stress and anxiety are finding me on the pillow, in the shower, and on my dinner plate. My wife is taking some R&R time right now, and I am not in the frame of mind to join her, even when I do step away from the laptop.
But it's a thrill.
I can't wait to see how we're received by my knowledgeable colleagues, the blogosphere of influencers and early adopters, fellow execs of other startups, the media, and most importantly, our customers. I can anticipate many of our early challenges, but nothing is as momentous as your launch day, and I'm eager to get there. Hope the anxiety levels let me get there in one piece.
Like my friend Josh Kopelman says, "you only launch once.".
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