About ten years ago, I decided to take a chance and joined start up. A few former colleagues had been trying to persuade me to join their fledgling company for a few years. They were in their infancy stage and I wasn’t quite sure about the business model. After a few years, they made some headway, received venture capital funding and hired a big name in the industry to be CEO. It no longer was just an idea with fingers crossed. It was a big risk to leave a stable, national firm, but I thought how often would an opportunity like this cross my path? I jumped ship and joined them.
What I learned from this experience is I’m not a good fit for a start up. Every day was a little chaotic, trying to fine tune the business model. One project I disproved part of the business plan that was suppose to drive cost savings. They were thrilled. Thrilled? I was confused. “Why?” I asked. “Because now we know we need to pivot,” was their response. What I learned was everyday there was a different pivot. When you pivot often enough, you can end up getting dizzy turning in circles.
I lasted about five months. I think I’m a better fit for traditional corporate America instead of the thrills of building a new mouse trap. I don’t regret trying it, though. If I had to relive this all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I was able to work with some great people and I at least had the start up experience so I never would be left wondering. Even though the start up had me turning in circles, my short tenure was only a slight detour. Now I can at least check the box and say been there, done that.
The Byrds released Turn! Turn! Turn! in 1965. The lyrics were taken straight from the Bible.
The lyrics are taken almost verbatim from the book of Ecclesiastes, as found in the King James Version (1611) of the Bible, (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) though the sequence of the words was rearranged for the song.
The Biblical text posits there being a time and place for all things: birth and death, killing and healing, sorrow and laughter, war and peace, and so on. The lines are open to myriad interpretations, but Seeger’s song presents them as a plea for world peace with the closing line: “a time for peace, I swear it’s not too late.”
– Wikipedia
I like the thought about everything having a time and a place. Different seasons for different points in life. I read that Ecclesiastes is traditionally ascribed to King Solomon who would have written it in the 10th century BC. Seems like people way back then were experiencing the same challenges that we are today. Some things transcends time. Well, maybe they didn’t have their own start up season, but I think you get the drift.
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To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late!
MyGenXerLife 
Start-ups sound exciting, but stressful. Pete Seeger wrote Turn Turn Turn – I didn’t know that. Pretty genius arrangement of the biblical words! So much changed in the 60s. This song is a classic I always liked – and now I know it came out in 65, like me. Great post!
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It was a unique experience, one I wouldn’t trade away. I’ve always liked this song. I was surprised where the lyrics came from, but thought how amazing to turn into a song. Sounds like 65 was a great year!
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I feel ya. I’d suck in that kind of environment too. Love the song though.
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It was difficult. Normally I can tough it out. This time, I couldn’t.
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You have a great attitude about it, focusing on what you learned from your experience. You never grow if you don’t take risks, right?
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I considered this to be my first professional failure. Normally, I can tough things out. This one was a bit much and we (start ups and me) didn’t fit. It took me about a year to get over this perceived failure. Now I don’t look at it that way at all.
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That sounds like progress! I’m trying to look at my past (perceived) failures with a different perspective too. They are painful in the moment, but we can learn so much from them.
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So true!
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I often think of this idea—that there is a time for everything.
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The older I get, the more I believe it’s true
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Like the original words, this song is timeless.
Was it tough finding another job after leaving the short stint at the startup?
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Fortunately, I work in an industry that everybody knows everybody. Even though it’s a big industry, people move around a lot. So there were many people that were former colleagues or business partners that I could reach out to. I was pretty fortunate.
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