The following is adapted from a blog posting by Seth Goldman, co-founder of Honest Tea, a Bethesda beverage company specializing in organic and socially minded products.
I have come to realize that my years as a Red Sox fan have shaped me as an entrepreneur.
Like any good Red Sox fan, I have my share of psychological scars. Most of mine come from 1975, when I was 10 years old. Yaz and I share a birthday (August 22), so we were very close (in my mind) and I still recall vividly the lineups (Denny Doyle at second), Joe Morgan’s pumping elbow, and of course the thrills and eventual disappointment.
As I watch my 10-year-old endure some of the same experiences this October, I have come to appreciate that there are five pages out of the Red Sox playbook that have helped build Honest Tea over the past 10 years.
1. There’s Always April — Stay Resilient
An entrepreneur has to continually overcome disappointments and setbacks — for our first five years we were turned down by stores, distributors, restaurants, investors . . . you name it. Most people would have given up after the first 10 rejections, but as a Red Sox fan I have always understood that “no” really means “not yet.”2. Embrace the Underdog.
One of the reasons Sox fans resent Yankees fans is because the latter think they are somehow entitled to first place. But Sox fans, and any self-respecting entrepreneur, have to be comfortable as the underdog. In the beverage world there are companies that are literally one thousand times our size. Coca-Cola probably sells more bottles in an hour than Honest Tea sells in a year. A Yankees fan may get intimidated by it; a Sox fan just believes.For three more pages of the playbook, go here.
Photo by MLB.
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