The power of WHY

Time and again I see this ... our success is determined by the size of our WHY. (insert size joke here)

A close friend of mine started an energy savings company 10 years ago. His WHY was saving the world by reducing energy use, one person at a time. They built the tech around this - got VC, built a business from scratch.

They just merged into a bigger company, and he gets to be CEO of a 400 person, $100/year company.

His equity stake from the dwarfs my lifetime of earnings, even in PE.

His WHY was - reversing climate change. It's a big WHY.

Another contact built a photovoltaics company that he took public. Big why, big success.

Now, maybe saving the world isn't your thing. But even if ibanking or PE is your aim, then you'll need a convincing answer as to 'why' or you will fall flat. You still need to have and express a 'why'. And "lots of money" probably isn't a great 'why' - at least not by itself.

I think back to my first PE interview, and my why was - "I want to build companies.
I don't know how to do that as an entrepreneur, but I think I can do it as a helpful investor. That's why I'm advising startups now in my free time, helping them raise money, etc. I love the entrepreneurial energy, and that I get to drink from that fountain."

That was the tipping point in the conversation.
You could see I won the CEO over right then.

Even for ibanking I could see you emote: "I am fascinated by healthcare and I want my work to make an impact.
If I raise for an oncology company, and they cure cancer, didn't I in a way help cure cancer?"

"I love tech. It connects the whole planet and pushes society forward. We're getting autonomous cars on the road, and spaceships into orbit. I get a front seat to that as a banker. Who wouldn't kill for a seat at this table?"

Get to your WHY.