I just found a great podcast called The Distance, which is all about businesses that have been running for 25 years or more. Businesses you won’t hear about raising venture capital and ones that likely aren’t revolutionizing everything you’ve come to know and love.

These are businesses you’re not going to read about on any tech valley news site. They’re businesses in auto wrecking and in coin-operated laundry.

They don’t solve sexy problems.

But I want to be sexy

I hear you — I want to be sexy too. I’d love to get coverage in any number of publications my peers read. I want to be viewed as someone revolutionizing my industry.

But the real question is WHY? Why on earth do we aspire to that? Why do we lust after the latest tech news about some new darling?

The reality is that most of those companies make a splash and take lots of money from people, then fail.

The ‘sexy’ problem they were solving wasn’t really that sexy and no one would pay for it.

They were able to pay hugely inflated salaries for a few years then everyone had to find a new darling to pay their inflated salary. Some place that had a new ‘sexy’ idea to solve.

I want to focus on the right stuff

Of much greater value is slow, sustainable growth. Where you can continue to serve your customers well and help them live awesome lives that were not possible before you came on the scene.

Of much greater value is employing people for 30 years, and hiring their children. Watching those children grow up and attend company events and go to school.

You don’t have to solve sexy problems and be on all the ‘popular’ tech websites to succeed. Mostly what that does is feed your ego.

Maybe that’s why all the ‘open offices’ are needed. To fit all the huge ego heads in.

photo credit: clement127 cc