How NOT following my dreams enabled me to build a startup with 3.2 million users

Follow your dreams and the money will follow

Rise and grind

Sleep is for losers. Work hard, play hard.

Success requires stress

Hustle until the haters ask if you’re hiring

Motivational startup quotes are everywhere.

They shout from Instagram feeds, coffee mugs and status updates. Maybe you have one scribbled on a nearby sticky note. If so, no judgment.

These are powerful themes. Everyone wants to feel excited about what they’re doing and creating.

We know that hard work can deliver results. And quitting your job to chase a startup dream is a seductive idea.

Mainstream media also perpetuates the story that if you log 80 hours a week, follow your passion and “hustle hard,” you’ll create the next Facebook or Amazon.

It could happen. But this narrative often leads founders into business before they’re ready.

It can also create enormous (and unhealthy) pressure that derails smart, ambitious people.