How I built this

Some opportunities are simply too great to pass up. But look before you leap.

In the world of entrepreneurship, you often hear that success isn’t about the idea – it’s about the execution. That’s true. But it’s not the whole truth.

Without a good idea, you can have all the funding and work ethic in the world – but you won’t get anywhere. But where do good ideas come from? Can you look for one, or do you have to wait for the proverbial light bulb over your head to come on? The answer, according to restaurateur and chef José Andrés, is both: Ideas happen, he says, “when you are actively moving and searching.”

So what’s the trick to knowing whether an idea is good enough? If you think it’s worth upending your whole life to pursue, it’s probably a good one.

In 1984, life was going great for Jim Koch. He was a big-shot management consultant, on track to becoming the kind of rich that means your kids will never have to worry about money. But he was unhappy in his work, and he had a nagging feeling that there was a gap in the market for European-style craft beer – which happened to be his family’s longtime business.

Jim’s family was horrified at the thought of him leaving his job. But for Jim, the choice was clear. Leaving may have been scary – but the prospect of bitterness in his old age if he missed his chance was dangerous.

Luckily for Jim, regret isn’t an issue for him today. He founded the Boston Beer Company, which in 2019 pulled in $1.3 billion in revenue.

Those numbers are enough to make anyone want to take the leap of faith and follow a passion. Go ahead! But don’t jump without a parachute.

For Daymond John, founder of hip-hop apparel company FUBU, the parachute was a job waiting tables at a Red Lobster in Queens, New York. Despite the brand’s popularity, Daymond knew he was never far from insolvency. The job, however unglamorous, kept the wolves from the door – and ultimately made it possible for FUBU to move to the next level.

In 1995, six years after its founding, FUBU got a multimillion-dollar round of financing, after Daymond’s mother took out a classified ad in the New York Times. That ad cost $2000, the equivalent of a month’s pay at Red Lobster. But with the investment safely in the bank, Daymond could finally devote himself full-time to his dream.