Having a great team around you

The growth of SportsLizard and its Price Guide the past few months has been an amazing experience, particularly when you consider that I had pretty much given up on SportsLizard. The reason I started iPrioritize in the first place was that I didn't "trust" the long term potential of SL. In this post last summer I asked "If push come to shove, would I sell , SportsLizard.com to fund iPrioritize?"

So what changed? I got partners. When we incorporated Pure Adapt at the end of '06 we reviewed all of our sites with our partners, and my partners really honed in on SL and saw its potential to succeed in its niche that I quite frankly did not. The more I researched it, the more I bought in (particularly when I saw the opportunity for the Price Guide) and the more that initial fire from 2004 resurfaced. My passion of innovating the collectibles industry is now just as strong (or maybe even stronger) than it was on that night in early '04 when I decided I was going to start a collectibles website.

When I was a solo-entrepreneur I often sought out the advice of people that I trusted, but it just wasn't the same as having partners that have a vested interest in what you are doing. A year ago I thought I needed "control" and could never work with an equal partner. Now I see all the needs that my partners fill better than me and there's no way in hell I'd enter into a business venture alone. By becoming part of a team I've really learned my weaknesses (accounting, sales, and over-reacting to situations, just to name a few) and down the road when I'm moved on to my next company I'll know what to look for to balance me out.

Anyway, it's just funny sometimes how another set of eyes will see your work as better than you do, and how in turn it can provide the necessary push to turn something good into something great.