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Old hippies die hard
I used to be a bit of hippy you know. It's true. There were many things about their way of life I thought were groovy, but I particularly liked their approach to spirituality. Their idea of an energy, a vibe, a flow it's good to go with were crucially different from established religions, yet managed to encapsulate an appreciation of something other which matched my own experience.It's often said that belief is one of the most essential characteristics to have when starting an enterprise. This is usually taken to mean self-belief, but it's equally true you need belief the idea is right, that the timing is right and that you're going to get the luck you need to make it all happen.
This belief has strengthened since changing Debatewise to a not-for-profit. First it opened up a world of opportunities I either would not have known existed, or I wouldn't have taken advantage of before. Right now, these opportunities revolve around funding but I've got a feeling that's because funding's what we need right now.
This wasn't true when the site was a traditional enterprise. I didn't get the same sense of opportunities, I didn't feel there were as many possibilities to make it happen. This may be because I'm more comfortable in the not-for-profit space, or it may mean that this is the 'right' thing for the site. I like to believe it's the latter.