The great industrialist Henry Ford was the author of that latter sentiment. And when the man who apprenticed himself in failure before producing 15 million or so Model T’s talks, you should listen.
Ford was twice written off by Detroit’s “motorati”, particularly the prominent businessman William H Murphy (a venture capitalist extraordinaire of his day), before learning three crucial lessons:
Obtaining finance is not the objective – avoid financiers when you can;
If you have to use finance, find like-minded souls; and
Don’t try and make your product serve too many customer needs.
The architect of the “Tin Lizzie” eventually found his backer in an émigré from Scotland (the cradle of entrepreneurialism) named Alexander Malcomson, an unconventional sort who made his money in the coal business and, crucially, agreed not to meddle in Ford’s manufacturing process.
via Crowdfunding: An Apprenticeship in Failure | High Net World HNW Magazine.
