Why I want to be an entrepreneur
AKA: My longest post ever.
There are three main attributes of entrepreneurship which appeal to me: (1) the potential to make a large impact, (2) the unique working environment and (3) the sense of ownership. Since I was quite young, I had the fortune to travel and understand that the world extended well beyond my own backyard in St. Louis, Missouri. I wanted to do something big enough in my life to affect people in a positive way. My senior year of high school I decided that the best path to making an impact on the world would be achieved by studying international policy and working for the United Nations. Once in college at the University of Chicago, however, I studied economics for the first time and came to understand the power of markets, incentives and demand to create change and make an impact in people’s lives. Entrepreneurship, new ideas and change are what keep the economy fueled. I believe that challenging the norm through the creation of new innovative businesses is the most impactful way for an individual to make positive change in the world today and is my new path to finding a way to make my mark.
In addition to the appeal of the impact that a good business idea can have in the world, the value that the life experience of building a company from scratch can have on one’s personal development is something that I want to experience in my lifetime. Though I have only been working on my startup, Unbound, for six months, the challenges of decision-making, product development and the everyday unexpected occurrences have been a welcome challenge and learning experience. I relish any opportunity to learn and grow and I feel that I have already learned so much by working in such an unstructured environment with a partner as passionate as I am about seeing Unbound succeed. This work environment and these experiences are an aspect of entrepreneurship that I have wanted to experience for some time and I am excited to continue learning as Unbound develops.
Finally, one of the strongest draws that entrepreneurship has for me is the appeal of ownership over an idea. I remember when the first nugget of the idea of Unbound took form in my mind, through discussions with my partner we grew Unbound from an idea to what we are working on today to turn into a company. Knowing that Unbound would not exist at this time in this exact way without my involvement and dedication is a very rewarding thought. Failure is almost irrelevant—I want to take the concept of Unbound as far as it will go to understand the potential of this piece of me, of my idea. While my experience working in a large company can provide a sense of ownership on a specific task or project, it is rare to have such a complete sense of ownership and responsibility—and my sense of ownership over the idea of Unbound is an aspect of entrepreneurial enterprise that is very rewarding.
It is these three features of entrepreneurship that drive me to continue loving to work on Unbound every evening after already putting in a full day’s work at my day job. I know that Unbound can change the world and truly impact the way that visual learners experience the internet. I am thoroughly enjoying the growth as a professional that I am experiencing through working in such a unique environment and fall asleep happy in the early hours of the morning knowing that my idea is moving forward. This is how I know that I want to become a true entrepreneur.
