The Lifestyle Stigma
Lifestyle is the curse in the startup world. And you, my friend, should stay away from it.
That’s the first lesson you learn when you step into this game.
Lifestyle is the stigma slapped on your company when it doesn’t fit the VC mold.
The ultimate insult for a first-timer.
The death sentence of your dreams.
You feel it like:
- A punch to the gut.
- Your business dismissed.
- Your efforts not even worth it.
Then everything becomes a desperate dance to shed that label.
A hustle to scrub away the shame:
- You change the story.
- You chase flashy things.
- You dress your dream in an oversized outfit.
All in the name of the VC blessing, to soothe that bruised ego of yours.
Because you got hooked on validation:
- The Forbes list.
- The TechCrunch feature.
- That investor logo on your Crunchbase.
But in chasing these illusions, you miss the first rule of the game, the one you keep forgetting:
No one cares about you, your business, or what you stand for.
They’re just looking for their next return.
And you? You’re just another line on a spreadsheet.
You and your dream are working for them, a multiplier of that return.
You gave it everything to escape the lifestyle.
At what cost, though?
Maybe what you ran from is the very thing you should be running towards.
That label, that stigma, that shame, might turn out to be your greatest gift.
Because lifestyle is freedom. The freedom to:
- Work on what you want.
- With whomever you want.
- Wherever and whenever you want.
And you? You don’t need a gigantic return, a stupid logo, a place on a silly list.
It’s taken me years, but I’ve learned that lifestyle isn’t a curse. It’s a privilege.
And now I wear it proudly.
Because when the applause fades and the headlines are long forgotten, what remains is a business that works for you, not the other way around.