Oddly low.
There are exceptions, but most of the successful entrepreneurs I know see relatively modest risk in their startups, at least in the early days.
Founders tend to see white space — real or imagined — and then see a path to filling it. And then believe they can fill it, period.
If you see a good space that isn’t being addressed effectively, and you are confident you have the team to pull it off … that doesn’t feel risky to founders.
Personally, I consider myself fairly risk-averse. But in both my start-ups, when I finally saw the white space and the team to pull it off — I immediately dove in head-first. Even signing a $750,000 full-recourse note in the first one when I had no personal savings yet.
The odds seemed 0.00%. But I saw the white space and believed in the team.
It felt about 95% certain we could do it, each time, on Day 1.
12 months in, a little less so, though 🙂
