Last Thursday it was the 3rd annual startups Christmas party at TechCube. Just one day prior, a cofounder from a Scottish startup had walked away after being offered to sign an investment deal.
Negotiations had been going on for months. No one can last that long, unless has substantial savings, takes a loan, his partner/family supports him or has a part time job to cover his living expenses.
It wasn't an easy decision. When you sacrifise that much for that long, it's hard letting go. You have doubts. Doubts about the choice you are about to make. You feel its weight on your shoulders; growing heavy. Accumulated by the moral obligation to your cofounders and people that have invested time in you.
The deal would keep the startup on life support and earn a title. Something to put on a résumé. A badge of honour. Not what you had in mind when you embarked on this endeavour. Signing it would mean lying to yourself, your cofounders, your investors. Far from what you had asked for in the first place.
As a person you are at your lowest point. You are burned out and have reached a dead end. You feel the need to walk away from it all. To recover, earn some money and hopefully make a comeback.
As a community, along with that founder, we have lost a great deal. Having not shared the experience, we learn nothing about what lead down that path. We continue living in our own bubble, destined to make the same mistakes.
The walk of a founder shouldn't be a lonely one nor a straight line but a circle. Startups come and go in this circle but people keep moving on. When a startup fails, people are not dropped out but instead fed back to another. This circle needs to be harnessed and protected to flourish. Experience will grow within.
This is where TechCube can play an important role. TechCube needs to nurture people while they build startups. It's the personal development of people that will lead to successful startups. TechCube must deal with all the pain, provide the resources and aid founders.
Maybe then we can say that Scotland has a chance of achieving something truly great.