Why Entrepreneurs Don’t Seek Help

Teaching Startup is supporting the middle ground of entrepreneurship

I’ve written two startup advice posts a week since January 2019, all in an effort to help make more and better entrepreneurs. That’s over 250 posts, close to half-a-million words, on concrete concepts that are valuable to both experienced and inexperienced founders.

These posts are (for the most part) free, and I’ve received hundreds of emails and other communications letting me know that the posts made a difference. It’s why I do it. But let’s face it. None of those posts contained magic words to turn a garage-based startup into a unicorn. I know this.

I’m also a formal startup advisor, and I get paid a lot to relay the experience I’ve gained founding or growing over a dozen startups and advising dozens more. That formal advising has helped a handful of startups reach a place exponentially higher than they would have otherwise.

But what about all the rest of those startups?

Those 250+ blog posts help a lot of startups a little bit. And those $250/hr sessions help a select few startups quite a lot.

It’s always confounded me that there is very little help available in the middle, for those startups that need more than…