This post has long been overdue.
I was a Founder in Cohort 7 of Elevator’s Accelerator programme that ran in spring 2018. I joined with a friend’s idea – a food business. Just before the start of the Accelerator my friend made the difficult decision to abandon the programme and this venture due to time constraints and other commitments.
[IMAGE: https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmTinxtEyJvmZNcJrJZUN1ka15Pkk13k2zuNmuPXJMnDAV]
Passion?
Facing the challenges of the Accelerator on my own, I realised within the first few weeks that this business idea was not for me. One of the mentors summed it up perfectly,
> “You talk like an investor, not like an entrepreneur. Where’s the passion?”
After some initial confusion, I got it. He was spot on. That’s exactly how I looked at this idea. I would invest my time, efforts and money for future return. I liked the idea, but I was not consumed by it. Being an organiser, I thought,
> “Passion is overrated! All I need to do is set things up.”
Maybe this would have been enough had there been a team. I could have essentially been the operations manager. However, for a solopreneur lack of passion for the core idea is fatal for the business. Lesson learnt!
So, where did that leave me within Accelerator 7?
I joined forces with another food business – a cake maker. She was looking for a potential partner. So, the Accelerator gave both of us a save environment to test things out. This time I could act mostly in the background and look after Accelerator ‘homework’. It was a great opportunity! I learnt about another type of business, and it allowed me to stay on the programme. Eventually the cake maker left the programme and so did I as a consequence… for about half a week.
The unexpected happened!
Another Accelerator start-up asked me to help them in the programme. Of course, I re-joined. Theirs was a science-based business. Thus, much closer to home for me than cakes. There was even another Cohort 7 member who would have taken me on board. How flattering!
In the end…
the Accelerator experience made me re-evaluate Blue Steens, my sole trader venture that I was about to wind down. I realised that it had been too focussed in its offering. I realised that people saw value in my various contributions and wanted to work with me. I realised that this ‘helping out’ and finding solutions is the approach I have always taken naturally – at university, in jobs, in life – and that this should be Blue Steens’ offering.
So yes…
I failed early in the Accelerator with the food business. Sometimes I even felt like a cheat by staying on the programme without my own business. However, in the end it all made sense and gave Blue Steens new purpose.
[IMAGE: https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmRNzDmMrGuHpDAenMmCnfnwDvzxdn5sQE1zRgRv457SyU]