When I tell my story of entrepreneurship to friends they always have the impression that I’m braver than they are for having the guts to quit a perfectly fine job to embark myself in the journey of starting a business. The reality however, is quite different and much less romantic than what people usually think.
I was not brave or smart in any way. I didn’t really know what I was doing. I had a lot of energy and I was very lucky. You can safely say I was a complete ignorant of the risks involved in starting a business.
I think a huge amount of young founders don’t really know what they are doing at all when they start. What we have in common is usually that we have very little to lose and substantial amounts of energy focused into making a single goal become a reality.
Taking my ignorance aside for a moment, I did realize that I was probably never going to be in a more comfortable position to take the risk of creating Toky so here’s a list of the things that worked out for me to decide it was the right time:
I had money saved up
Not a lot, but around 4 months worth of living expenses. No debts.
Good health
I felt very strong physically and mentally. I was eating good and exercising a lot. My mind was also in a good place.
I changed my environment
I had just moved to Mexico. I didn’t have friends, family around and I didn’t feel like being home. Everything felt like new and I wasn’t attached to anything.
The change inspired me
Moving from Asunción to Mexico City was a shock in every way. From living all my life in small towns and cities to suddenly being in a gigantic city surrounded by millions of people made me see the world differently. It made me feel that I was maybe capable of doing things I thought I couldn’t.
I was focused on a single objective
My wife received a big promotion and with that came a salary increase for her. I felt that I could fail with Toky without being afraid of becoming homeless as consequence. This mental state was fundamental at that time because it subconsciously gave me permission to risk everything I had and freed my mind to solely focus on Toky.
I felt supported
I built an MVP of Toky and with that I went to pitch it to Wayra and to my surprise, they decided to invest. This is probably the single biggest signal I received it was time to make the jump. That’s exactly what I did in September 2014.
As you can see, I was not brave at all and I was really lucky to be in the position I was when I decided to start Toky. I can only take one merit out of this entire situation and that is that I recognized the opportunity and I didn’t let it escape.
Every person and situation is different but maybe after reading my experience you can relate to it in some ways. Maybe you are hesitant because you are afraid or feel unprepared and for what it’s worth, I don’t think you will ever feel prepared and that’s okay.