Hi there! I'm Will. Thanks to all 9 of you who have signed up ahead of the first issue. Welcome to Procrastineur, a newsletter about struggles and successes in modern entrepreneurship.
It's Thursday, April 22, 2020. This week's topic is getting started.
Why I'm writing this
Dealing with adversity and laziness
Why I'm writing Procrastineur
I have read voraciously since I was a child. It's a hobby, but more than that, it's a cure. You see, the more I read, the better I become. I learn to treat friends and family well, to think through issues in our lives, and to imagine a better future.
Fiction taught me so many lessons in the art of interaction. Perhaps as much as real-world people. Artful words by talented authors make you think about the why behind others' actions, as much as seeing the actions themselves. I (over)think often about the way things were phrased or about a friend's mannerisms. We can determine so much from a person's actions.
Books about business taught me more still. I have learned to reason through issues by applying thoughts from famed authors such as Clayton Christensen, Jim Collins, Bethany McLean, and Peter Thiel. Well-written pieces help us think through issues we have not considered and pushes us to understand difficult issues. We wind up better for it.
News fills us in on the good and the bad happening in the world. It often makes us think about the “what ifs” - things can always be better, right?
The missing item in my reading has always been “What are people building?”. We can find information in publications like TechSpot and VentureBeat, but I wanted to create something that dove into the founders behind projects that haven't risen to the highest echelons just yet. It's what I want to read about. I hope you do too.
Some of the founders and creators featured in Procrastineur will have found success in their current venture or a previous one, but all of them will be people just like you and me who have struggled along the way.
Each issue is going to present a builder's past, a project they're working on, and something they have struggled with along the way.
I'm a little lazy, but it works
“I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job, because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it”
- Bill Gates
It's taken a full two months from inception of Procrastineur for me to complete my first conversation with a founder – see the issue on Astronomical Studios founder John Williams next week – and I believe I've set up a system to keep it running smoothly, week after week. That’s the key, after all - create systems to lessen the workload and things are easy sailing from there. Sometimes.
My laziness has helped performance in my corporate job, even if it also helped me fail a company roughly 4 years ago. SpaceFox, an office-space take on AirBnB, isn't on the internet any more, but I've never learned more in a short year than with the friends that helped get it started.
Systems are the key. Blocking off time to work with people, creating space to let your mind wander, and allowing for fun in the midst of the work all lead toward success. What we missed in the SpaceFox days was the grit and grind needed to hone in on the first customers and get their buy-in.
Founders in Procrastineur might not be ~procrastinating~ on their big tasks, but everyone has their hangups. You aren't alone; neither are they.
I'm here to highlight the challenge. I am writing Procrastineur to showcase the perseverance of creators working to improve the world around them while working through everything that pops up, be it personal or technical.
I hope you enjoy the publication. If you do, please share it with your friends. Again, I am so grateful you're joining me on this journey.
“Procrastineur” is a newsletter about new business, modern founders, and struggles in entrepreneurship, written by Will Whittenton. You can connect with me through my website, Twitter, LinkedIn, or send me an email at willwhittenton@gmail.com. If you enjoy the newsletter, I’d really appreciate it if you would share or forward it to others.