Three Things: Starf***ers, Backstabbers and Holidays!

Three Things I Learned This Week In Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events - 1) Nobody likes the starf**ker. It's the holiday party season and following the example of some before them, many new start up entrepreneurs try to follow the path of 'celebrity entrepreneur.' They spend time only networking with those who are very public. They're snobby to others and follow around those they're trying to get value from like Chester following Spike around https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj_cP2Y5aos. The start-up ecosystem has seen this movie before - and I've seen it really hurt some founders reputations and their business. Mix in some humility. Take meetings with those you can help AND with those you need help from. The fake ones, for the most part, get spit out. 2) Loyalty, for the vast majority, is to themselves. Lincoln Riley, the new coach at USC, hadn't even had time to update his social media profile from taking the new job and leaving Oklahoma in his rearview mirror but he found time to slap on some new gear and get to work poaching recruits. We've had "friends" (yes, multiple) literally turn around to compete directly with us. One asked us for a job and advice before going to a competitor. Your back will get stabbed quite a bit. How you handle is up to you. https://twitter.com/ArashMarkazi/status/1465544889077166083 3) "You'll never see a U-haul behind a hearse. The Egyptians tried it. They got robbed. That's all they got." Take time with family, friends, or even yourself. If you can at the holidays, do it then. If not, find another time. I promise you, there will be plenty of vacations and holidays spoiled by new big customer prospects (I've spent many a 4am on "vacation" working in a rental car in the parking lot), capital raises (twice to us), acquirers (seems to happen every holiday) and even lawsuits. If you find that window where you can slow down even just a little bit, take it.