We don’t lack ideas, we lack execution.
Tope Awotana is an entrepreneur who started from scratch and created Calendly. A software solution that makes meeting scheduling easy. Calendly does over $60m in revenue today. In the Guy Raz podcast (I recommend it), Tope tells his story.
Photo by Manasvita S on Unsplash
At one point, he bet his life savings to launch the application. He went through a partner in Ukraine who helped create the software.
Guy asks him, “have you set up an NDA to protect your idea?” It’s true that by entrusting his idea to an outside structure, it could have been stolen.
But his answer is quite different. “Ideas are not worth much, it’s the execution that counts, and I was confident in my ability to execute in my own way”
And this is true for every project. Many have the idea, few launch it, and a handful execute it the right way and succeed.
Each person is unique. They are the sum of their experiences, culture, which is reflected in how they execute.
Tope was born in Nigeria, lost his father at a young age, and began his career selling alarms door to door.
This combination makes him unique as a person and also in his ability to execute an action plan.
How can you apply this to your life?
Entrepreneurship is a state of mind. It’s about trying, innovating, accepting rejection, and always starting over. You can apply it in your daily job by focusing on your unique way of executing. Or start your own business…
It’s up to you.
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