The Core Pattern: How the Passion Trap Works
It’s clear that the above negative consequences can drag down otherwise talented founding teams and significantly reduce a startup’s probability of success. But, specifically, how does entrepreneurial passion play a role in these outcomes? How can positive emotions, so vital in propelling a great idea forward, also undercut a startup’s odds of success?
The answer lies in a simple, sneaky pattern, a looping interaction between internal factors (such as a founder’s biases, perceptions, and choices) and forces that operate outside the founder (such as actions, data, and results). The pattern feeds and strengthens existing beliefs and biases—what we think is true, and what we hope to be true—about the startup idea we are putting into action.
