When creating a technology-based business, you can’t help but be inspired by the stories of Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. One cannot imagine the seemingly unfathomable challenges that they conquered to get to where they are. Reading and watching their stories have inspired people around the globe, including our kababayans. But even when the world is a little bit smaller (or maybe event a lot smaller!) than before, most of us still think that the path to greatness only lie in a few parts of the world.
We’d love to be the next Mark Zuckerberg or Jessica Alba, but we still think that we, in the Philippines, may not have a chance. We think that we are still worlds apart, and that dream may never be a reality.
Don’t just let go of your dreams just yet, as this book called The Finishers, may be just what you need. Do you know that in this book, Ezra Ferraz, the author and a good friend of mine, documents 11 stories of founders who have successfully made exits.
An exit strategy is a contingency plan that is executed by an investor, trader, venture capitalist or business owner to liquidate a position in a financial asset or dispose of tangible business assets once certain predetermined criteria for either has been met or exceeded. (Read more here: Exit Strategy http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/exitstrategy.asp#ixzz4q0aqrY1L). The dream is really to achieve an exit.
And it’s quite a surprise that not everyone really know that we have founders here in the Philippines who have actually exited. “All of these founders hail from different industries. They have different functional expertise. Some are Filipino born and raised. Others are balikbayans. Still others are immigrants. Yet they all find common ground in the shared belief that you can build a world-class tech company right here in the Philippines.”
I have started reading the book and one of the things that I like about this book is that it brings us closer to reality — the reality that we can also achieve our dreams and ambitions, and we can actually make it big in the global tech arena. We often think that only startups in places like Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv or Singapore can make it big. We, too, can create, build and lead a company that can change how the things work in a global scale.
Another reality is that everyone can have a bright idea, but it all boils down to how bad the founder wants it. From the stories that I have read, most of these founders persevered even amidst competition, barriers, uncertainty, etc. They executed ideas and strategies, pivoted when something did’t work and were all relentless.
So if you have a dream, go for it! The Finishers, by author Ezra Ferras, will help you stay motivated and inspired throughout your start-up journey. It will give you a glimpse into the life that you will have and a peek into a life that you can have.
Order here: https://www.facebook.com/TheFinishersPh/
*** Since publishing The Finishers, Ezra continues to share the success stories of tech founders and their startups, this time through a company of his own, Ambidextr. Backed by Future Now Ventures, Ambidextr is a full service content marketing and public relations studio focused on serving tech innovators across Asia Pacific.
