Entrepreneurs: *DO* Be A Hero

Written By: Dharmesh Shah January 3, 2013

A few minutes ago, I came across this tweet from my friend and co-founder at HubSpot, Brian Halligan.

halligan tweet

This got me to thinking (which is often a dangerous thing), am I taking enough risks?  Am I being daring enough?  Am I being a hero?  Answer:  Not often enough.

So, here's advice to my future self and all of you:  *DO* be a hero.

1. Be a hero.  Go after that big, powerful incumbent that doesn't delight its customers enough.

2. Be a hero.  Hire that awesome, amazing person -- even though they don't fit any of the roles you're currently looking for.hero woman 2

3. Be a hero.  Make that sacrifice that will negatively impact your profits but completely aligns with your passions.

4. Be a hero.  Make that really, really hard decision that even the smartest people you know can't seem to agree on.

5. Be a hero.  Say no to that accomplished, super-successful person that your team interviewed, loved and convinced to join -- but doesn't fit your culture.

6. Be a hero.  Kill that stupid company policy that nobody can recall the rationale for, but you suspect was because someone (maybe you) had a friend who knew a guy that had read about a startup that didn't have that policy and that company failed.

7. Be a hero.  Launch that super-secret project you've been working on even though it's more likely to fail than succeed.

8. Be a hero.  Admit that you've changed your mind on the decision you so passionately advocated for a few months ago

9. Be a hero.  Confess to your team that sometimes you take the safer path out of fear and rationalize that you're doing it for the good of the company.

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