The Entrepreneurial Spark: Where It All Began

My first thoughts of starting my own business came when I was in the 4th grade. The idea? Repainting Matchbox cars. Since money is scarce when you’re 10 years old, this seemed like a reasonable idea. I even remember pitching it to my mom during our drive to elementary school.

Turns out, no one was willing to pay me 30 cents to have their cars ruined with a waterproof marker.

From there, I had countless more ideas. One of my earliest money-making ventures was a street quiz game: participants paid 30 cents for three questions, and if they won, they got 1 euro. Some people played, and we earned about 5 euros—a big success at the time. I also sold QBasic code on the schoolyard. But by far, my most successful early endeavor nearly got me expelled from school.

The Business That Almost Got Me Expelled

There were three of us, and the rise of CD burners made it easier than ever to copy content. We asked ourselves: what could we copy that everyone wants?

PlayStation 2 and PC games were already a saturated market, so we decided against it. But there was a free niche: porn.

Yes, you read that correctly. A couple of 13-year-old kids started selling Gina Wild pornography on the schoolyard. And, to our surprise, it worked like a charm. Who would have thought that selling porn CDs would be a big thing?

We made more money than we imagined, selling each disc for 10 euros. We sold to older boys, kids our age—even some girls. Business was booming.

Until one day, the principal walked into our classroom.

He called our names and took us with him. We already had a bad feeling about what was coming. I simply looked at the other two guys and nodded.

In the principal’s office, several CDs were laid out on his desk. Some contained porn, others PlayStation 2 games. Parents had discovered them.

“Do you know what these are?” he asked.

We all shook our heads.

“So, you’re telling me these aren’t yours?”

Silence.

“Someone told us they bought these from you. This could become serious trouble. If you don’t say something, I’ll assume you were the ones selling them.”

Back then, it was a scary moment. Without thinking, I went all in: “What’s your proof?”

To this day, I don’t know what made me say that. My friends stared at me.

The principal sighed. “Listen, boys, I know it was you, but I can’t prove it—yet. So, I assume this ends today, doesn’t it?”

We said nothing.

We stopped selling CDs that day. We knew we wouldn’t get away with it if someone really tried to dig deeper.

Even today, I still smile about the story of how my first real business nearly got me expelled.

The Hard Truth: You Will Fail by a 55% Chance

At the beginning of 2024, I started multiple business ideas:

• AI Sourcer for executive search firms ($20,000 revenue)
• Lead Gen Agency ($15,000 revenue)
• Cascaddy, our network growth tool for LinkedIn (peak 20 customers)

Sounds like wins?

The devil is in the details:

• AI Sourcer: It’s not just about filtering the right candidates—it’s about “activating” them. Executive search firms were happy with our results, but they soon realized that even the best-fitting candidate is worthless if they don’t respond.
• Lead Gen: A great idea at first, but within three months, everyone was doing it. Now, every business owner is flooded with “personalized” cold outreach.
• Cascaddy: It had potential, but the unit economics killed us. We charged $20 per month, while our API costs were roughly $15—way too high.

What Are Your Chances of Failing?

In summary, solopreneur businesses have a first-year failure rate of about 25% and a five-year failure rate of approximately 55%, according to the BLS and SBA.

I’m not telling you this to discourage you—I’m just tired of the “become self-employed, it’s all milk and honey” myth. Being your own boss is fun, but it’s also a lot of pressure. And sometimes, failure isn’t even your fault, as my friend learned the hard way.

You Can Do Everything Right and Still Fail

One of the most frustrating things about being an entrepreneur? You can do everything right and still fail.

A good friend of mine started a Kombucha company in 2022. Seeing the growing trend in the US (a $1 billion market at the time), he decided to bring it to Germany.

The problem with physical products? You need cash. A lot of it.

My friend and his business partner were excellent salesmen. They raised 500,000 euros plus a 300,000 euro loan from a bank—enough to get started.

Then, bad luck hit.

2022 saw economic turmoil: Russia invaded Ukraine, inflation soared, and spending tightened—not just for individuals but also for companies and investors. On top of that, the retail market is like the Mafia—big players want a cut before you even get a chance. My friend underestimated this. Wasting money on gatekeepers meant they couldn’t spend enough on marketing.

In the end, a weak economy and pay-to-play retail politics killed their business.

Hustle is Bullshit

“Work harder,” they say. “Hustle more.” If you fail, it’s your fault.

What a load of BS.

Starting a company is hard work, and you will likely fail, no matter how much effort you put in. The trick? Keep trying.

That’s what separates continuously successful people: they don’t stop.

After nearly 20 business endeavors, I still can’t stop. I won’t stop. Something in me tells me to keep trying until I find the right one.

So my advice? Create instead of just consuming.

Final Thoughts: Choose Your Struggle Wisely

There’s a lot of misinformation and countless flashy videos making entrepreneurship look easy. Don’t be fooled, and don’t be discouraged if your first attempt doesn’t succeed. Growth is part of our nature, and challenges are inevitable. The reality is, you have to choose your struggle—either endure a job you don’t love or embrace the hardships of building something of your own.

Whichever path you take, make sure it’s one that helps you grow.