A buddy shared an interesting thought with me today. He believes in building an entrepreneurial platform. As a founder builds his business, he institutionalizes the knowledge and relationships from his journey in the platform. As his success grows, the platform grows too. The process of building this platform is intentional. It may take years, even up to a decade, before it has significant substance. It doesn’t take away from his entrepreneurial success or slow him down materially if he adds to it as he goes along (versus at the end of his journey).

This approach gives the next crop of founders with access to the platform an advantage. They benefit from the know-how and relationships the previous founder developed. The new founders can use the platform to do more earlier in their journey because they don’t have to endure as much trial and error. They’re positioned to go further than the entrepreneur who went before them. As new founders reach new heights, they add know-how and relationships from their journey to the platform to help the next generation of entrepreneurs.

I like my buddy’s ideas and want to think more about this.