Reality TV shows are like Vitamin Water, not at all what they sound like.
— Sahil Lavingia (@shl) November 6, 2012
We hear this new show "Start-Ups: Silicon Valley" has hit the airwaves. Something that's akin to reality television for the entrepreneur guy. Or is it "Jersey Shore" meets Silicon Valley? Whatever it is, we know it's out there. We haven't really seen it yet. But this isn't going to be a review or a bash of the show. There's plenty of that out there already. Besides, Sahil's tweet says it all.
That being said, we ran across a New York Magazine article, which says in a nutshell that Silicon Valley needs to be able to take a joke. Who says we can't take a joke about what we do? Certainly, we all can and we do around ZURB HQ. The article's snark, however, seemingly denies the simple fact that it's difficult for those who toil into the morning hours on code to see their industry parodied in stereotypes. A totally understandable feeling.
Despite the biting tone, the article does highlight the rabbit hole of entrepreneurism. The dream of fame and fortune. The desire for the glitz and the glamour. Which, admittedly, are aspirations that can come easy with billion-dollar acquisitions, like Instagram.
The reality (pun fully intended) is that entrepreneurism and building great products are hard work. That's not to say, you shouldn't dream of world domination. We never stop thinking about it. But to be the best in the world, you have work at it. You have to push through when no one else believes in you, when you have nothing but a cupboard full of Cup Noodles to eat. You'll make mistakes and learn from them. Doing so, you'll perfect your craft.
We didn't start off out of the gates a fully-formed product company. We started with one lone person in an apartment bedroom, working hard to build something that had value, that solved people's problems. And that's where it all begins and to get to that ending where you're out on top, you can't get distracted by all the glitz and glamour. And of course, since we're all working hard toward the same endgame, we can laugh at the silly TV stereotypes.