There are many times in startups and in life where tireless perseverance pays off.
Even if the mission or company ultimately fails, the failure is honorable, critical lessons are learned and the journey continues.
The one place where I think you should think twice about tireless perserverance is in hiring.
Hiring requires a focused dedication to do it right. But I’m always very cautious when I see startups trying like mad to recruit an individual and the process taking seemingly forever.
There are exceptions but my gut says that if it takes too long, there isn’t a rhythm, if there it feels like unrequited love, if the negotation is rough and painful, if the candidate seems endlessly indecisive, then you should just move on.
Yes, the person might be a “rock star” or have the right experience for the job. but when something isn’t right about the process and it’s better to end it cleanly in the beginning vs a long drawn out process that won’t go anywhere. Or have the person join and then leave in a year.
Its particular true when a startup recruits an exec from a large company. There are number of times hiring a big company exec can work but it works when the candidate is in love with the people/product/opportunity at the startup. If they spend countless energy thinking about missing their big fat paycheck and low risk job, then they aren’t the guy/gal for you.