Attended the Salon des métiers d'art du Québec which is an annual event that brings together artists and craftspeople from across the province, and a great place to pick up unique gifts for the holidays.
As the event is close to where I live, it has been easy for me to pass by each year, and as such, I appreciate walking through and recognising many of the artist-entrepreneurs I've spoken with and whose works I've purchased. For many, their journey is not unlike that of a startup entrepreneur: they have a unique skill or insight, but in order to have a viable (let alone massively-scalable) business, they must continuously adapt themselves to the market and their clients.
I bought a gift from a woman who earns her living as an architect, and takes pleasure in her creative work as a sideline. She noticed my engineering ring and we had a great conversation about careers in design and technology. It wasn't difficult to choose which of her works would make the best gift: I took the one with the best story which would connect most with the recipient.
In startups (as in many things) we often celebrate the milestones (fundraising, acquisition, product launch) rather than the journey itself. I think it is important to work actively to celebrate the journey, the story behind the mission, whenever possible. Imagine the potential impact if startups were more strongly valued as such, and less so based on numbers in a spreadsheet!
As the event is close to where I live, it has been easy for me to pass by each year, and as such, I appreciate walking through and recognising many of the artist-entrepreneurs I've spoken with and whose works I've purchased. For many, their journey is not unlike that of a startup entrepreneur: they have a unique skill or insight, but in order to have a viable (let alone massively-scalable) business, they must continuously adapt themselves to the market and their clients.
I bought a gift from a woman who earns her living as an architect, and takes pleasure in her creative work as a sideline. She noticed my engineering ring and we had a great conversation about careers in design and technology. It wasn't difficult to choose which of her works would make the best gift: I took the one with the best story which would connect most with the recipient.
In startups (as in many things) we often celebrate the milestones (fundraising, acquisition, product launch) rather than the journey itself. I think it is important to work actively to celebrate the journey, the story behind the mission, whenever possible. Imagine the potential impact if startups were more strongly valued as such, and less so based on numbers in a spreadsheet!