Entrepreneurship in Academia Is a Lonely Game

R3ciprocity.com - Prof David Maslach: Innovation; Research Life; Striving Towards Happiness · Jun 6, 2026 · 9m

Here’s what nobody tells you.

Building something truly different

is like flying a plane

while you are building it.

When I first heard that in my PhD program,

I did not fully get it.

Now I do.

Nobody really knows what to do.

Nobody really knows the right course of action.

There is no single correct answer.

There are many plausible worlds.

Many possible truths.

And you have to pick one.

Entrepreneurship research has said this for nearly 100 years.

Entrepreneurs bear uncertainty.

That is the job.

And uncertainty feels awful.

You will be embarrassed.

You will think what you built is glorious…