What to Do If the Course of True Love Is Not Running Smoothly

Teaching at a business school, I meet a lot of 20-something aspiring entrepreneurs. They are well trained, smart, ambitious, and energetic. They generally have a good idea and know people who want to help them. But one particular quality distinguishes the ones whom I’m most bullish about: They fully hope, and intend, to succeed, but they understand the significant likelihood of failure and face it in a healthy way. They know that their Big Idea is just the first one; if necessary, they will come up with more ideas, which will be better than the first. These are the entrepreneurs to watch—not their specific start-ups.

This attitude toward failure is the same one that can lead to success in the greatest entrepreneurial venture anyone has in life: romantic love. I have previously that the most successful relationships closely resemble mature start-ups (as opposed to mergers),