Years ago I was at a roof top party where I met a power house of an entrepreneur. We got to talking about the SXSW pitch competition–which she dreamed of winning someday. This 29-year-old, African American PHD student had built a fintech company which provided an amazing service to her community. Having served as a SXSW advisory board member helping recruit candidates, I could not for the life of me figure out why she did not apply—she would have been a shoe-in.
Sadly, she was not alone. Having founded and built a technology focused PR firm, then serving as an advisor and board member for years after selling my firm, I saw this story play out time and time again. So many extremely qualified, brilliant entrepreneurs don’t take the shot. They tell themselves they are not ready for the limelight. They tell themselves they are not qualified to speak on that panel. They tell themselves they are not worthy of that award. They tell themselves they have not done enough, that they don’t know enough to provide value. So they don’t take the shot, and in not taking the shot, they don’t get the recognition. They don’t build the network. They don’t get the funding and they don’t grow as fast.
To all of the entrepreneurs out there afraid to apply, who think they need to wait. I urge you, take the shot. Apply for the pitch comps, reach out to conference organizers in your industry to apply to speak on that panel, pitch those VC and angel groups. You will always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
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