Business writer Phaedra Wise wrote her Confessions of an Entrepreneur's Wife after her husband spent years trying to get his carbonated juice drink off the ground:
The truth was he had little time for analysis. As the head of sales and marketing, CEO, president, and chairman of the board, as well as the person charged with finding capital, he had a staggering workload. Like a shark, he needed to push relentlessly forward to survive.Bill’s travel schedule was unpredictable. He bounced from fundraising pitches to sales calls all over North America. When he was home (a few days every other week) he was exhausted and burned out. He had no desire to socialize. I packed away the party dresses and started turning down invitations.
I quit asking him how things were going at work because his answers always focused on problems. He was the No. 1 problem-solving guy, and when you’re a hammer, everything around you looks like a nail. It scared me that from Bill’s perspective the whole thing was so often about to collapse.
He was also beginning to question whether it was even worth it. With each new round of financing he had diluted his shares. He and Wayne held shares jointly in an S corporation. (They shared a single vote to control their combined shares, which meant the tension between them never diminished.) In the first round they kept 60 percent, but by 2004 they were down to less than 30 percent. I reminded Bill of a conversation I once had with a CEO I was interviewing. “How could you give up so much equity?” I asked. “Well,” the CEO said, “it’s better to have 1 percent of 10 million than 100 percent of nothing.” I could see that Bill’s hard work was paying off. I didn’t want him to give up yet.
When the company received a local business award, I was thrilled. I thought it would be a chance for Bill to slow down and realize that he had created a big success. For one night he–we–could revel in his accomplishments and accept a few accolades. I got a sitter and picked out my dress, but the day before the party Bill canceled. He had to be in Chicago to meet with a potential investor. I was disappointed, but by now I was used to it.