From http://goo.gl/V3UXXu

Penelope Trunk, a well-known blogger for start-ups wrote a blog titled, “Your Biggest Barrier To Starting A Business”.

In this blog, she identifies finding “a great partner” as the greatest barrier for launching a start-up.

I definitely agree that trying to seek a reliable partner, whether the partner provides capital, advice, or simply positive morale, is usually the make-or-break of start-ups.

However, I think one of the greatest obstacles for a person to truly commit themselves to a start-up is risking their careers. A person could have the best social connections and have investors, but if that person can’t convince him/herself to throw away everything they have, there’s no point.

Many start-ups fail, and it’s difficult for many people to quit their jobs and take stakeholders’ capital to launch businesses that could be the next Facebook or join a graveyard filled with failed start-ups.

For some people, taking this risk is easier because some people may not have much to lose. For others, they have their family’s welfare, children’s college funds, financial debt, and so on, all on the line. Once a person is able to 100% believe in his or her business, and allow that commitment to drive their business, then they are past the most difficult step of starting a business.