Gold Rush

So I couldn’t sleep and turned on the television only to immediately fall, totally engrossed in the closest representation of starting a company that I ever have seen on television: Gold Rush, Alaska.

If you haven’t see it, I can sum it up pretty simply. 6 guys, hit hard by the economic catastrophe sell everything they own to gold mine in Alaska. They have three months before they are totally broke, they don’t know everything they need to know to mine, they are drastically under staffed, and it’s their only chance to survive not only in the wilderness but also in society.
Remove the Alaska and the gold mine and you can pretty much get a sense of starting your own company. Many founders that I met over the years including my own co-founder know exactly what I am talking about and can relate to this show. You fight over seemingly insurmountable issues to build a company, you work 21 hours a day, you burn down all your savings on a chance that you will make it. That chance is what drives most, the success of taking that chance drives fewer, the entire process drives me.