Editor’s note: Contributor Ashkan Karbasfrooshan is the founder and CEO of WatchMojo, he hosts a show on business and has published books on success.  Follow him @ashkan. This isn’t an anti-entrepreneur rant. It’s also not a piece to discourage anyone from launching their own business. It’s a warning for those who seek to launch their startup to understand some of the lesser-discussed reasons why 99% of new businesses are Dead On Arrival. As outlined, success is 1) subjective, relative and fluid: i)                    we define success based on what drives us, ii)                   but we tend to measure it relative to other people’s success and over time, iii)                 we convince ourselves to change its definition, revising upwards or downwards, depending on the conditions on the ground. 2) a function of six variables: vision, ambition, determination, execution, timing and luck. Part 1: Before You Launch Your Startup… Sometimes, Macro Timing is Everything Success is as common as an eclipse, the result of externalities lining up at the right time.  However, entrepreneurs rarely launch their business as a result of market (macro) conditions, but rather, personal (micro) timing and circumstances that have little to do with the broader landscape, even if the macro backdrop is at odds with the micro circumstances. An example of this is launching a hiring startup in a recession when companies are laying people off by the boatloads.  No amount of vision, ambition, determination, execution and luck will offset your bad timing. Ideally the macro and micro come together at the right time. Don’t underestimate the micro timing, either Of course, that isn’t an excuse for those who fail due to the wrong timing, either. You can overcome bad timing if you execute well otherwise. However, more often than not, entrepreneurs launch businesses when they’re inexperienced or when their personal situation doesn’t lend itself to the startup life’s rigors (recently married, new child, student loans, etc.) What are you: an Intrapreneur or an Entrepreneur? Assuming the timing isn’t off, many aspiring entrepreneurs simply aren’t cut out – or truly willing – to be entrepreneurs, whose roles and responsibilities literally include janitorial services.  The sheer majority of people who launch businesses are in fact intrapreneurs – entrepreneurial types who can succeed in a larger organization by launching new products, business units etc., when they benefit from support in administration, sales, marketing and have the stability that comes with a regular paycheck. Too many brilliant minds waste
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