Love and Startups

Why love is the driving factor for success

I and my partner recently discussed what has kept us together for ‘so long’. Was it love, obsession, friendship or just plain stubbornness?

In the end, we circled back to love and friendship, that inexplicable feeling of respect and genuine care for each other.

And it is the same in business - the love for the customers, the love for making your client’s life easy, the love of being a saviour for those who need you, the love for money!

No matter what the love is directed at, Love is the driving force for long-term relationships, marriage and businesses.

Even great co-founder relationships are like great marriages too. From the fun times to the very bad times, sitting together at the bottom in despair on your lowest day and telling each other that it’s going to be okay.

And just as marriage has no guarantees of success, just promises, goals, and hope, Startups are the same. For better or worse, you get out of your bed, trudging the trenches till you attain your goals.

And as with every good relationship which requires a healthy dose of effort and participation from all parties involved, Startups require continuous learning, iteration, pivots etc.

Finally, learning to not ‘major in the minor’ is an essential part of love. It’s not about the global economic crises (which is important to track btw), the silly fights here and there, the unexplainable events like Covid, the burnt relationships which you had no power to save etc, but about the end goal, whatever it is.

So Yes, Love is a driving force in business!

In my recent conversation with Damilare Ogunleye, co-founder of Foodlama, he touched on how relationship building is essential for any business, and why founders should especially be mindful of this. He shared about how being a father taught him vital lessons and how a built a career while maintaining a healthy relationship with his wife. You can catch the full conversation here - Anchor, Apple