A Parent’s Death and Entrepreneurship

Maybe it is a coincidence, but I recently had two meetings with different entrepreneurs.  Each had a father who died very young.  Their mothers in turn changed their lives to care for young children as a single parent.  One mother cleaned hotel rooms.

I don’t know if these life-changing events put these folks on the path to entrepreneurship, but I suspect it affected them.  One of the entrepreneurs ended up going to a military service academy for college, and ultimately, served in special ops and led a platoon in combat.  I got the sense from him that his sense for leadership and drive were very deeply grounded.

I’ve found that founding teams that are driven solely by money rarely succeed. Entrepreneurship is a long term way to make money.  The low points often wash out folks when a financial payday looks uncertain.

But, the entrepreneurs who are compelled to create and build are the ones with stamina and creativity.

I’ve written about my mother previously (“My Mother and Her Shoe Boxes”).  She suffered from many illnesses for most of her adult life, and she nearly died quite a few times when I was young.

I don’t know if those early experiences made me more entrepreneurial or not.  But, she definitely sacrificed a lot so that I could have more opportunity.  She definitely conveyed a sense of urgency.