I studied art from 1990 till 1997. During that time I made a lot of work and started a lot of projects. I still have lots of stuff stacked away at my and my parents house. Officially I’m an artist. That is what I studied.
Sometimes I meet people I studied with and often they ask me, cautiously; ‘So euh, do you do anything with art these days’.
The question always confuses me. What they want to know is whether I paint, make sculptures and hang out in galleries. The typical art stuff. And I don’t so the answer in their minds would be ‘No’. But in my mind my work never really changed. It just evolved. I’m an artist and entrepreneur.
Luckily I don’t really have to make that distinction much. The only time I really think about it is when I have to fill out that form at the US Customs where it says ‘Occupation’ and when I meet old friends who ask me the dreaded ‘Art’ question.
But last week I received a comment here on this blog from one of my readers. It was in Dutch but roughly translated it said:
It has been too long since you had a good idea. Maybe you should stop using the ‘Serial Internet Entrepreneur’ term for yourself
You can still see the original comment here. I could have deleted it but I didn’t because I was just intrigued by it.
For some people, just like with the ‘Art’ question, there apparently are rules about how you can use these kind of titles. Some people think I am not an artist because I don’t paint and my work isn’t for sale in a gallery. Other people think that because I haven’t sold a company in 4 years I shouldn’t call myself a ‘Serial Internet Entrepreneur’ anymore.
For me however being an Serial Internet Entrepreneur isn’t all about selling companies.
It is about being able to try new ideas.
Crazy ideas.
Funny ideas.
And sometimes, yes, bad or maybe even stupid ideas.
Looking back I am just as proud of the companies I started that failed as I am of the projects that succeeded. I am proud and thankful that I got a chance to try these ideas and I am happy that I could exit gracefully when they turned out to be bad ideas.
Being an entrepreneur is not all about success. It is about falling down and getting up again and trying again and enjoying the whole process.
Or, as Winston Churchill said, better than I ever can:
‘Success is going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm’
So, without hesitation I can say:
My name is Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten and I’m an Serial Internet Entrepreneur, artist and professional juggler.
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16 Responses to “What Am I?”
Great blogpost! but do you still juggle ;)
Nice blog Boris. It’s good to know who you are and what you do..!
please correct I am proud and thankful that I got a change/give them a change.
churchill on chance: a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
“Being an entrepreneur is not all about success. It is about falling down and getting up again and trying again and enjoying the whole process.”
As much as I envy people with the stamina to get up again after failure, I don’t think it’s a broad enough philosophy to base your identity as an entrepreneur on. There must be something you want do achieve as an entrepreneur other than just a succesfull enterprise + buyout, right?
So then maybe the more relevant question is: what do you want your internet enterprises to be? Please tell me it’s more than just factories for crazy/funny/stupid ideas :-)
@pixites: thanks! Fixed that
@Steven: I want my companies to be successful. The definition of success is different for each project/company. Some I want to sell, others I want to grow. The crazy/funny/stupid are often just a start and may grow into something tangible over time. But you can’t discriminate to early. Most great inventions start as ‘just’ a funny idea. Which brings me to another quote:
“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny’ …’”
So if you want to invent new stuff you have to create an environment where ‘That’s funny’ attracts attention and praise. Not one where it is countered with ‘It might be funny but lets concentrate on serious stuff’.
@Boris: I totally agree ‘fun’ is not a dirty word. I think it’s a little meager though to base your strategy *only* on the fun part of it; relevance to our times is a big factor for succes also.
Maybe you’d want your enterprises to upgrade current business practices to a state of more fun for everyone concerned?
Boris, from a personal branding perspective you should try to make your title a little more unique. There are more serial internet entrepreneurs. And yes, you are the first search result, but there are quite a lot of people being called or calling themselfses serial internet entrepreneur. So some suggestions: The Dutch serial internet entrepreneur, the artistic/creative serial internet entrepreneur. So if you look for a label for yourself, define one that is you and only you.
Professional Juggling and art, that’s something I can relate to. Boris, the artistic professional juggling serial entrepeneur. Makes one hell of a business card if you’d ask me. My other suggestion: TEAFKAJ, The Entrepreneurial Artist Formerly Known As Juggler, but you would probably get in a fight with Prince-fans using that one.
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions!
@Tom Scholte: I’m not only the first result but also result #2, 4, 8, 9 (which is a link to your blog talking about me) and 10. Not bad at all! If you search for just “internet entrepreneur” I am result number 9.
Now if you search for just ‘Boris‘ at Google.com I am result number 10 (!). Of ALL the Boris’ in the world (including Boris Jeltsin, result number 46) I am number 10.
I’m not unhappy with my personal branding at all right now… :-)
It seems to be a philosophic tought and a lot of nice creative reactions. It’s always hard for a person to be downhill. But sometimes we need to be, otherwise we can’t go up anymore. I think in this case serendipity will be the answer. Today I learnt again we need to be open for the surprise, otherwise we won’t score the penalty.
That reminds of how my second daugther learned to walk. She just enjoyed trying to stand and fallover again. As long as you don’t hurt yourself too much when you fall you are ok..
Boris,
Good to think about your own role.
I recognize the struggle. I describe myself as trendwatcher because I tell technology and business stories but I have started 5 companies in 5 20 years so serial enterpreneur is also cool.
Trying to start companies is something i admire in you. I think you are playfull, creative, smart and fun.
Keep on thinking and reflecting. You inspire me to do the same.
Vincent Everts
Boris, if you are looking for some more reflection, I am pleased to offer you a free 360 personal brand assessment. This is an online feed back tool in which you can ask 20+ people to appoint your strong attributes, skills, team role and a few more questions. It is an anonymous tool so people are able to tell the truth ;-) . The analysis will focus on your strengths, the consistency of your brand and the degree of self awareness. This assessment will give you helpfull information if you are interested in how you are perceived by other people and if you want to improve your self.
Professional juggler. i like that : – )
What’s your hourly rate for juggling with 7 balls?
and 6?
;)
The way successful web applications for a large audience are grown is by planting a seed and helping it grow, the best way you can. If that means going back to the drawing board many times based on feedback from users, so be it. If that means throwing it in the dumpster entirely so be it as well…
A lot of the great ideas don’t grow into a multibillion dollar business, but that doesn’t mean it’s not successful or useful.
P.s. Is there any merchandising for the Boris brand yet? I’d like a t-shirt…
As a filmmaker by education, I understand what you mean very well. I’ll never stop shooting video or thinking about the world through a lens, but I run into friends from school and that doesn’t mean much if I haven’t written a short or been working on a feature in awhile.
In the long run, you are whatever you can convincingly tell someone else you are. I have more film experience than 90% of the world, so I’m still a filmmaker (film has a drastically larger effect in my actions than most of the world). I have founded and am trying to build my first “real” company, therefore I am an entrepreneur. I plan on working on many different companies but I haven’t acted on that thought yet, therefore I am NOT a serial Entrepreneur.
Self-definitions are the only ones that count as long as they aren’t self-delusions.