Mike was the co-founder of a high-tech company that he set up 18 months ago after working in the PA sound and light industry for over 15 years. Things were changing in this sector, with many smaller companies being taken over by larger ones and he was presented with an opportunity that he felt he could not let pass him by. Despite not knowing much about technology he was pretty sure that his business acumen and contacts would see him through. Very early on Mike secured investment of $150,000, based on an ambitious estimation, but something he was prepared to stand by and take a risk on at the time.
A year and a half on, things were not working out the way he had hoped and the company was not performing in the way he had believed. This knocked Mike’s motivation, which surprised him as he had always been such a driven person and had overcome many personal and business challenges in the past. He was keen to get to the heart of why he was feeling this way and after some soul-searching and self-inquiry, Mike soon realised that despite his new tech. company being a promising way of making it big time and securing financial freedom, his heart was not in it. It was not his passion, he did not feel the same way as when he secured a contract to provide equipment to bring an event to life, seeing and experiencing the joy and knowing the difference that a great PA sound could make.
Also, he felt very removed from what was going on, as before he was very hands on, even to the degree that he built some of the speakers and helped fine tune the amplifiers, but the tech in his new company was out of his hands, a feeling he was not familiar or comfortable with. He didn’t feel like he was utilising his strengths and even though he didn’t want to give up, Mike knew he needed to find a way to feel a live in his new business again.
What can you learn from Mike’s story?
