/
The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship
Save to my account
Sign up
The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship
The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship
Study
1
Question
What was the speaker attempting with his wife after putting the kids to sleep?
Answer
Spend some quality time together downstairs.
2
Question
Where was the speaker's mind focused during the attempted quality time with his wife?
Answer
Trying to smother another panic attack.
3
Question
What activity did the speaker turn to upstairs when losing the fight against the panic attack?
Answer
Taking a shower to process and calm down.
4
Question
What did the speaker start doing in the shower after deep breathing failed?
Answer
Pounding on the wall of the shower while crying his heart out.
5
Question
What desperate question did the speaker ponder while crying in the shower?
Answer
Whether his wife and kids would be better off if he killed himself.
6
Question
Why did the speaker believe his life insurance would benefit his family more than he could?
Answer
It would take care of them better after the stress from his risky business ventures over recent years.
7
Question
What topic did the speaker introduce after describing his shower breakdown?
Answer
The dark side of entrepreneurship.
8
Question
What had the speaker dreamed of doing since childhood?
Answer
Running his own businesses.
9
Question
What glamorous fantasies did the young speaker have about entrepreneurial success?
Answer
Arriving at the Met Gala in a helicopter and spending time on his yacht.
10
Question
How did the speaker's entrepreneurial motivations shift as he aged?
Answer
The grandeur shrunk next to hopes for a better healthier world for loved ones.
11
Question
Why did the speaker pursue business ownership over a traditional career?
Answer
His parents could not pay his way into a lucrative traditional career.
12
Question
What was the speaker's goal with entrepreneurship for his family?
Answer
Change the world and set his family up for life.
13
Question
At what young age did the speaker marry his wife?
Answer
18 years old after falling in love in middle school.
14
Question
What unexpected event occurred despite the wife not being supposed to get pregnant?
Answer
They had a sweet little girl when the speaker was 19.
15
Question
Why did the speaker work extreme hours in his daughter's first year?
Answer
To provide for his family because he loved them, despite not loving the work.
16
Question
What alternative careers did the speaker briefly want before entrepreneurship?
Answer
Cop and astronaut.
17
Question
What personal trait does the speaker acknowledge having?
Answer
A power complex.
18
Question
What ventures did the speaker launch by age 28 to become a serial entrepreneur?
Answer
Started a private equity firm, acquired a couple of businesses, and had a consulting service.
19
Question
What family lifestyle did entrepreneurship promise the speaker?
Answer
No bill worries, vacations, family time, and helping others.
20
Question
What well-known statistic about startups did the speaker cite?
Answer
Ninety percent of startups fail.
21
Question
How quickly did most of the speaker's businesses fail?
Answer
About a year.
22
Question
What financial crisis hit the speaker after his businesses failed?
Answer
Crushing debt, unable to pay bills, no income with a hungry family of five.
23
Question
What prevented the speaker from sleeping after his business collapse?
Answer
Being consumed with how to fix things for his family.
24
Question
Who came to check on the speaker during his shower breakdown?
Answer
His wife, who figured out he wasn't okay.
25
Question
What did the speaker confess to his wife in his unraveled state?
Answer
He was thinking of suicide mostly so they wouldn't worry about next groceries.
26
Question
What did the speaker's wife prioritize over financial stability during his crisis?
Answer
Being with him; she'd rather be homeless than without him, kids hungry than lose dad.
27
Question
How does the speaker describe his wife's response style in the crisis?
Answer
Latina and full of fire; words like 'what are you thinking, how dare you assume I'm shallow, you're not getting out that easy.'
28
Question
How long had the speaker and his wife been together during the shower incident?
Answer
16 years.
29
Question
What initial steps did the speaker take post-crisis to combat anxiety?
Answer
Got on antidepressants, started going on walks, and hopped on self-help trains.
30
Question
What did the speaker seek from his close friends after the crisis?
Answer
Encouragement via text, like a collection of support to pull out in dark times.