Thursday, November 8, 2012

Why Big Questions And Bad Decisions Make Better Entrepreneurs

“Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions.”

This quote from an unknown author might be the most apt description of my life as an entrepreneur. Some decisions will change your life, but only if you ask the right questions.

In 2007 I was faced with one of those decisions — what to do with my life. I was finishing my masters degree in Management of Innovation and Business Development at Copenhagen Business School. The economy was bullish, industry was growing and graduates were in high demand. Like many of my peers, I got a steady influx of news about recruiting events and even a few interview requests too. At the same time, there was my study-mate Gus.

Gus and I spent many nights enthusiastically discussing different startup ideas, which always lead me to the same perplexing question: “should I get a job, or should I start a company?”

I sought advice from friends and family, but informing my decision became a public opinion poll that made my head spin. The problem was, depending on who I asked, I would get a different answer. When I talked to my mom the answer was (obviously): “take the job, Kasper,” while some of my college friends would urge me to follow the startup dream.


One night I was sitting alone in my kitchen. A friend’s girlfriend had sublet me her apartment. She had for some inexplicable reason chosen to paint her kitchen walls a bright shade of pink. So, there I was, surrounded by this rosy hue and completely consumed by that nagging question: “what should I do with my life?”