Almost-daily updates of my journey as a French Tech entrepreneur starting up in France.
Day 3 — Saturday, 20th March 2021, 1900 Hours
What's common between the ancient Greeks and entrepreneurs? They both walk(ed) a lot. The Greeks considered walking a default state of being — and did most of their thinking, debates, and philosophizing over miles of walking. Walking was their choice of recreation. A way of life.
As an entrepreneur — especially one who is trying to get settled into a new city, you walk out of necessity. You walk because you want to save money — money that can buy your next product ad, or pay for your cloud bills — money is critical.
Of course, time is critical, and thus you balance it by doing what the ancient Greeks do — you think while you walk. You strategize, you choose between various alternative ideas or options and you debate with your cofounder.
Our day 3 in Grenoble was spent walking to and back from Casino Geant — the local supermarket, buying groceries. Yes, entrepreneurs need to eat too. Weekends are often filled with tasks outside of running a startup.
Walking helps in another way — it's your opportunity to catch up on the much-needed exercise — something busy entrepreneurs are often known to neglect. It helps if you are in a city like Grenoble, where walking is a visual pleasure.
I have been an entrepreneur for more than 10 years now — and the best part of it has been the control over my own time. While walking might seem like a tremendously time-consuming thing, I would submit that it's exactly the opposite. It's one of those unique endeavors which enrich you physically and mentally and give you a lot of perspective about things.
To be continued…
