Belief is fortifying. It's stiffens your spine and thickens your skin so you don't easily get swayed from your chosen path. But what do you believe in (in the context of startups)?
When I attended the Entrepreneur's conference in the previous post, one of the panels had a group of successful founders discussing how they 'picked' their venture idea. Interestingly, in this particular group, they had not come up with an idea themselves, but rather sought and reviewed ideas for development. Some looked for the right numbers while others looked for something they could relate to (regardless of what they picked, sooner or later they made it their own). They needed to believe in the idea, however they got there, before they made the jump. Belief generates passion (check out any evangelist for proof).
But there's more. It is necessary to believe in the idea, but it is not sufficient. As an entrepreneur you have to believe in yourself and your ability to successfully build the company on the idea. This belief is what gives entrepreneurs grit, single-minded focus, and the ability to make mid-course corrections and ride the downs. Sometimes the effect of this belief may look like arrogance (OK, in some, it is arrogance), but without it, every nay-sayer, doubter and competitor could make you crash and revert to your safe corporate job. It cannot just be a matter of checking the boxes on skill sets, experience, industry contacts etc. There are many successful entrepreneurs who on paper would never appear to have what it takes - assuming they'd ever measure themselves against someone's else view of an 'ideal' entrepreneur. Filled with unswerving confidence in their idea, there's no room for self-doubt. There are no cycles wasted on 'Can I/Could I' concerns. Belief. Every startup is built on it.
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