‘You couldn’t make it up’ is a well-worn phrase but actually untrue. Because however ridiculous something may be, you could make it up – as people have for millennia.
But it’s certainly true that, as a startup founder, you find yourself doing bizarre things on a daily basis. So bizarre that you sometimes don’t realise how weird they/you are until someone points it out.
This happened to me earlier this week when a family member asked what I was doing.
‘Just texting someone.’
‘Who?’
‘A guy I found on Instagram.’
‘Why?’
‘Because he might be able to help.’
‘What with?’
‘A sweet potato.’
‘A sweet… doesn’t matter. But why are you on Google Translate?’
‘Because he doesn’t speak English and my French is a bit patchy*. Look [showing my screen] how clever this is?’
‘You do realise you’ve turned into the Here We Go dad?’
Here We Go is a brilliantly observed and funny sitcom, written by and starring Tom Basden, which recently began its second series on BBC1. The dad in it, Paul Jessop, is a well-meaning but ludicrous figure who dreams up all sorts of hare-brained schemes that rarely, if ever, go as planned.
I hope I’m not (quite) in his league but I see the comparison. But again I hope I’m not alone. Because I’ve heard plenty of founder stories about the absurd things they’ve done to get their businesses off the ground, promote them or take them to the next level.
Most of the time, they’re responsible for these ideas. If they pull them off, they’re geniuses. If they don’t, the ideas are swiftly forgotten† as they move on to the next one.
Anyway, that’s what I tell myself as I await the latest reply from France. If the plan comes good, I’ll happily share it. If not, this post will vanish en temps voulu.
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* A ‘bit patchy’ is more than a tad généreux.
† At least by them, though not probably not by anyone else.
