Would You Ever Walk Away From Your Startup?

You worked long, sometimes fruitless hours to make your startup a reality. Endless meetings, pitches and late-night work sessions later, it’s hard to imagine walking away. Or is it?

We asked nine successful entrepreneurs from YEC what exactly it would take for them to walk away from their startups. Here’s what they said:

1. Realizing Someone Else Could Do It Better

I am always cognizant of the fact that good founders don’t naturally make good managers, executives or leaders. We have to work at it and try our best to evolve with our companies as they grow from startups into small- and medium-sized businesses. Responsible founders owe it to their stakeholders to always check themselves by asking, “Am I the right person for this job?” If the answer to that is no and the gap can’t be closed, then it is time to consider moving on and begin succession planning.

—Christopher Kelly, Convene

2. Losing the Passion Completely

To walk away from my business, I would need to have reached a space where the passion I once felt was gone completely. I’m not talking about those moments in business where you’re burnt out, tired and don’t feel like producing a single other thing, but rather those moments where you stop and ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”

If I reached that stage, I’d begin looking at how I could exit the business in such a way that would still preserve the essence of the business and the passion and power that it currently has driving it forward. If I couldn’t do that well, my team and clients would suffer, and I couldn’t deal with that. For me, it all boils down to that: the business has to feel good and do good in order for me to stand strong behind it.

—Erin Blaskie, Erin Blaskie, Digital Strategist

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