The Entrepreneur`s Curse

Entrepreneurship is a strange, paradoxical journey. For many founders, the constant sense of urgency often stems from the belief that they are already behind—that their groundbreaking idea is so obvious the world must surely be on the verge of embracing it.

Yet, time and again, the reality proves to be the opposite: they are not too late. They are too early. And in many ways, that’s the curse of the entrepreneur.

The World Should Already Work This Way

The origin of every great entrepreneurial idea lies in a founder’s vision of how the world should work. It’s an insight so clear, so obvious to them, that it’s hard to comprehend why the rest of the world hasn’t caught up.

For the founder, this can create a nagging doubt: Am I too late? Has someone else already started solving this problem? After all, if it’s obvious to me, shouldn’t it be obvious to everyone?

But the reality is different. Most revolutionary ideas come into the world before their time. The founder’s insight might be right, but the world might not yet be ready. And so, far from being too late, they are too early.

When Great Ideas Arrive Too Soon

History is littered with examples of innovative products and concepts that failed, not because they were bad ideas, but because they were simply ahead of their time. One famous example is Apple’s Newton, launched in 1989. It was, in essence, a tablet computer — the precursor to the iPad. Yet it failed spectacularly.

The Newton was ridiculed and dismissed as a technological dead-end. For 20 years, its failure convinced people that tablet computing would never work.

But when Apple launched the iPad in 2010, everything changed. Suddenly, it wasn’t just a niche product—it was a revolution. The difference? The world was ready. Mobile broadband had matured, screens were sharper, batteries lasted longer, and the global appetite for portable technology had grown.

Timing Matters More Than You Think

For founders, the Newton story holds a valuable lesson: even a great idea, perfectly executed, can fail if the timing isn’t right.

The world is an ecosystem of interconnected factors—technology, infrastructure, cultural readiness, and market behavior. Your idea might require conditions that simply don’t exist yet. This is not a failure of imagination or skill; it’s a mismatch between the idea and the world’s readiness to embrace it.

This misalignment often feels like failure, but it’s not. It’s just the entrepreneur’s curse: you saw the future before everyone else.

The Pain of Being Too Early

Ironically, being too early often feels like being too late. When the market rejects your idea, it doesn’t tell you, Great idea, but we’re not ready yet. Instead, it tells you, "This won’t work."

It’s painful. Founders question themselves: Was I wrong? Did I miss something? The doubts can be crippling, and for many, they can lead to abandoning the idea entirely.

But the truth is that great founders rarely fail because they are too late. They fail because they are too early.

Navigating the Timing Paradox

So, what should entrepreneurs do when they suspect they might be too early?

1. Start Small: Build for the people who are ready, even if it’s a niche market. This allows you to prove your concept, learn, and build momentum.

2. Keep Iterating: Sometimes the world catches up faster than you expect. Don’t give up too soon.

3. Stay Close to the Problem: Even if your solution doesn’t work today, the problem isn’t going away. Keep listening, learning, and adapting.

4. Watch for Signs of Readiness: Technology shifts, cultural changes, and infrastructure improvements can all create new opportunities for your idea to succeed.

The Long Game of Visionaries

Being too early is not a failure—it’s evidence that you are a visionary. The Newton didn’t fail because tablet computing was a bad idea. It failed because it was 20 years ahead of its time. Steve Jobs and Apple didn’t abandon the concept. They waited, they learned, and when the time was right, they tried again.

This is the mindset that great founders adopt. They understand that timing is a critical, unpredictable factor, and they prepare themselves to play the long game.

Final Thoughts

The curse of the entrepreneur is seeing the world as it could be while living in a world that isn’t ready. It’s a frustrating, lonely position to be in. But it’s also the mark of someone who is capable of shaping the future.

If you feel like you’re too late, pause for a moment and consider: What if I’m actually too early? Because history shows that the founders who succeed aren’t the ones who arrive late. They’re the ones who endure being early—until the world catches up.