Entrepreneurs: Caveat Emptor
by Miki Saxon
“Brian” is an entrepreneur — an entrepreneur whose company just shut down after burning through $140K friends and family cash.
He burned through it as the result of a combination of overconfidence and ‘underdiscipline’.
It’s not the first time.
Nor the second.
His uncle, “Connor,” is a friend of mine and I asked why he keeps investing.
He said that he the ideas and plans sound solid and he does in depth due diligence, but something always happens.
Connor’s wife thinks Brian is a con artist.
Connor disagrees; he says there is a fundamental difference between the two.
“The difference between entrepreneurs and con artists is that entrepreneurs truly believe in the dreams they are selling — con artists are focused on the money.”
I told him so did pathological liars, who usually exhibit above average verbal skills as opposed to performance abilities.
Which sounds exactly like Brian.
The takeaway is caveat emptor, whether the entrepreneur with the vision is family, friend, warm intro or cold.
Flickr image credit: Scott Akerman
