Commitment: Beating the odds

“That teacher was there for me.” “I wouldn’t be where I am today if that coach hadn’t taken an interest in me and supported me through those tough periods of my youth.” “Having someone older to turn to, who had walked where I was walking, made all the difference.”

Research after research that has studied at at-risk youth – those who have beaten the odds and succeeded in life – have found that it is the impact of a trusting relationship with a caring adult that proved to be the most common success factor. A business start-up is something like the most at-risk of youths. They have odds to beat. Everyone’s heard the jarring and sad statistics, “One-hundred percent of all new businesses fail in the first year!” It’s hyperbole of course, but it seems to be what people are saying. And the fact is, that more new businesses than not, do fail over time. Most credible studies put the numbers at 30% of new businesses failing during the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years, and 66% during the first 10.

At the Agathe Center for Entrepreneurship, we make a “durable commitment” to our clients. We’re committed to “walking alongside” our clients for the long-term. It’s never our intent to engage in singular, one-off interactions. It’s our intent to go “narrow and deep” rather than “broad and shallow”. We see this as one of the best ways of clients beating the odds.

Whether it’s the challenge of finding success as an adult when coming from an at-risk group, or the challenge of guiding a business from start-up to stability, we believe that the support of a caring, committed, and experienced advisor does make a difference.

‍We’ve got a “durable commitment” to that.

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