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Why "Follow Your Passion" Can Be Terrible Startup Advice... We hear it constantly in the startup world: "Follow your passion!" It sounds inspiring, right? But honestly, as practical advice for building a sustainable business, it can sometimes be misleading, even dangerous. 🤷‍♂️ Here's the reality check: Passion ≠ Market Demand: You might be incredibly passionate about something... that very few people actually need or are willing to pay for. Market validation must come before scaling passion. 🤔 Passion ≠ Business Model: Your enthusiasm won't magically create profitability, positive unit economics, or a scalable GTM strategy. Viability matters. 💸 Passion ≠ Essential Skills: Building a company requires grit AND craft – sales, marketing, finance, operations, leadership. Passion alone doesn't build the engine. 🛠️ Passion Can Create Blind Spots: Sometimes, being too passionate makes us ignore negative feedback or clear signs the market isn't responding. A More Pragmatic View? Maybe better advice is: 1. Find a Validated Problem you find Interesting Enough to solve relentlessly. ✅ 2. Develop Valuable Skills the market actually pays for (passion can grow from competence & impact). 💪 3. Ideally, find the sweet spot where your Interest/Passion INTERSECTS with Market Opportunity & Your Skills. ✨ Passion is crucial fuel for resilience during the inevitable tough times! 🔥 But it shouldn't be your only guide when building a business from scratch. Strategy, validation, and skills need to drive too. What's your take? Did you follow pure passion, or did pragmatism (practicality) lead your way? Let's discuss! 👇