Biggest Challenges Faced By A Co-Founder At Lost Abroad
Jack's biggest challenge as a co-founder of a startup is the initial financial struggle, describing it as a "chicken and egg situation" where securing funding to create a tangible product is difficult, forcing long hours and side hustles to make ends meet. This high-risk, high-reward scenario requires significant risk tolerance, as "more than 90% of startups don't survive the first year," yet success could lead to long-term financial and personal rewards.
Entrepreneurship, Startup Challenges, Financial Risk, Work-Life Balance, Resilience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Jack (Xinkang) Du
Co-Founder, Principal Educator/Chief Education Officer, CMO
Lost Abroad (lostabroadgame.com)
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. 2009
Bachelor of Science with Honors (Master's equivalent in commonwealth countries): marine biology and quantitative genetics/marine biology, 2012; Graduate Diploma of Teaching, 2015, both are from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management, 2022
Business Management & Admin
Education
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
International Student, Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Immigrant
Video Highlights
1. The financial instability of early-stage startups is a significant challenge. Many startups struggle to secure funding, creating a "chicken and egg" scenario where tangible results are needed to attract investors, but funding is necessary to achieve those results.
2. Entrepreneurs often work extremely long hours (60-80 hours/week) while facing financial hardship, requiring additional side hustles to make ends meet. Work-life balance is severely impacted.
3. The high-risk nature of startups is emphasized, with over 90% failing within the first year. A high risk tolerance is crucial for success in this field. The potential rewards of financial and personal fulfillment are significant, but only for those who succeed.
Transcript
What are the biggest challenges in your role?
The financial situation can be a little difficult for early startups, both on the startup level and the personal level. Early-stage startups usually struggle with funding because institutional investors want to see that you've created something tangible.
They want to see something promising before they give you money. But without money, it's hard to create something tangible and decent, so it becomes a chicken and egg situation. In the beginning, you're essentially working a full-time job without getting paid.
In order to pay rent and food, you have to take on side hustles. I also do at least 20 hours of a part-time job, which is market research, to pay rent. Essentially, you're working your ass off with no weekends or holidays, likely working 60 to 80 hours a week and still struggling financially.
It's rough. You can't afford holidays or nice things. You also don't have time to look for more work because your time is already spent on so many things.
The upside is that once your startup is successful, you can be rewarded both financially and spiritually. However, the downside is that more than 90% of startups don't survive the first year. It's incredibly risky and difficult in the beginning, but also incredibly rewarding. If successful, you're potentially set for life.
It's a trade-off that you have to balance. Risk tolerance is an important quality for an entrepreneur, in my opinion.