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03/23/12 | Uncategorized

3 Things That Keep Us Women Down Regarding Entrepreneurship

By Larry Chiang (CEO, Duck9 & Stanford University EIR)
I’m a supermodel man. As a representative of the male supermodel community, I can say we have lots of similarities to women. Recently, I started to say things women say. I did this for fun but also to gauge effectiveness and play.

In playing, I learned the equivalent of a year in business school. These are things they can’t teach / won’t teach.

Here are my insights and here is what you, as a burgeoning fem-preneur, should pay attention to on our specific transition from pre-entrepreneur to founder.

#1 – Women Want To “DTR”

“DTR” stands for “define the relationship”.

However, entrepreneurship is wrought with relationships that are not defined.

For example, college students struggle with the mentor, mentee lack of structure and definition. Specifics are here: mentee mistakes.

As women, we should not seek to define the relationship. We should “ace the relationship” – even if its a crappy one. Make that especially the crappy ones.

#2 – Women ask “what are your intentions with me?”

I got horrible results when I asked this question, no matter how early or later in the relationship I ask this question.

Realize that we are entrepreneurs now. We make it up as we go. No questioning.

#3 – “It feels like we are going around in circles. That’s not progress.”

Three steps forward and two steps back are par-for-the-course.

Men plod forward in the face of negative feedback (sometimes to their detriment). We as women should embrace the activity even though it feels like monotonous work that takes us around and around.

This is especially true if we went to a great school.

Entrepreneurship is a massive cluster dollop of huge uncertainty. It’s also 90+% drudging forward three steps, only to get pushed back two.

Be like a male supermodel and relish in this – working hard in undefined relationships and leveraging people as assets with unclear intentions.

There is more. Reduce “sales friction” and grow the street smart set of skills I call my “street smart legal series”. Your “cost” is about 15 minutes when you click here.

Editor’s note: Got a question or answer for our guest blogger? Leave a message in the comments below.
About the guest blogger: Larry Chiang is CEO of Duck9. He scandalously uses his company’s credit card product to lead generate CS major founders by ‘selling’ a credit card that actually pays CS major undergrads called the “Larry Chiang Duck9ReverseAnnualFee.com” product. His fund is called “Larry Chiang Stanford G51 Fund of Stanford Founders”. He teaches ENGR 145 at Stanford as an EIR. Follow him on Twitter at @LarryChiang.

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