I recently came across the blog post “Founders: Burn Your Boats” on Hacker News and found it to be the exact wrong advice. The logic behind the argument is that by removing your escape routes (boats) you are committing totally, and focusing your attention on your startup company, and you will of course be happier. will be more successful. A good example would be not doing consulting work while working on your startup. “Burning boats” works for marriage, where “forsaking all others” is one of the main points of the whole endeavor.
However. if you have a startup company, you’re only trying to make a product. Total commitment is, at best, a necessary evil, not a virtue. Sure, you’re showing commitment to other people, but why not just show them an awesome product? By “burning boats” the only thing you’re doing is putting yourself in a weaker negotiating position with venture capitalists, and looking good instead of doing good.
Editor’s Note
This blog post originally appeared on the Profit Awareness Blog – as that app is up for sale, it has been consolidated into the main Digital Tool Factory blog.