As I sat in my clinic last week, speaking with a couple who had just begun their IVF journey, I couldn’t help but reflect on the parallels between their aspirations and those of the startup founders I mentor. Both groups are brimming with hope, ambition, and a touch of anxiety about the future. And while the stakes are undeniably high in both arenas, there’s one quality that I find crucial for success in each: patience.
In the realm of IVF, patience is not merely a virtue but a necessity. It’s an arduous and emotionally taxing journey, where each step—from ovarian stimulation to embryo transfer—demands time, resilience, and faith in the process. Patients often come to me, their eyes filled with the urgency and desire to “get it right” on the first go. What they may not realize is that the path to parenthood via IVF is often fraught with setbacks and uncertainties. Success is rarely linear.
Similarly, in the world of startups, founders are often eager to see immediate results. They dream of rapid growth, quick funding rounds, and instant market disruption. Yet, those who have been through the grind understand that building a successful startup is more of a marathon than a sprint. The most enduring companies are those that have weathered the storms of initial setbacks and have been patient enough to iterate, pivot, and refine their offerings.
In both IVF and startups, the misconception that success should be swift leads to undue stress and often, premature abandonment of promising ventures. Let me dismantle this myth with a dose of reality: the timeline to success is often longer than we anticipate, and the journey is as important as the destination.
In my own IVF journey, I’ve learned that each cycle, whether successful or not, offers invaluable insights. It’s a lesson in understanding that failure is not the opposite of success; it is part of the process. Similarly, a founder I backed recently shared that after two years of painstaking effort with minimal traction, they finally hit a breakthrough. The product was the same, but the market had matured, and their persistence paid off.
Patience in IVF means accepting that the first cycle may not work. It means trusting that your doctor has your best interest at heart and is tailoring your treatment to maximize your chances. It also involves coming to terms with factors beyond our control, like how a perfectly healthy embryo sometimes fails to implant. In these moments, patience is about maintaining hope and not letting disappointment cloud the path forward.
For startup founders, patience is about understanding that the first product iteration is unlikely to be perfect. It means listening to customer feedback, making data-driven decisions, and sometimes pivoting in unexpected directions. The founders with whom I’ve worked who have truly excelled are those who see each setback as a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block.
Let’s talk numbers for a moment. In IVF, success rates can vary widely depending on numerous factors, such as age and underlying health conditions. For women under 35, the success rate per cycle is around 40%. This diminishes with age, dropping to around 4% for women over 42. These numbers aren’t meant to discourage but to remind us that patience in the face of these statistics is a powerful ally. It’s about playing the long game.
In the startup ecosystem, it’s a well-known fact that 90% of startups fail. But here’s the silver lining: many successful entrepreneurs have stories of initial failures that taught them lessons they couldn’t have learned otherwise. They had the patience to persist through the darkness, to learn from their mistakes, and to emerge stronger on the other side.
One particularly memorable case from my practice involved a couple who, after three failed IVF cycles, were ready to give up. However, they decided to try once more, incorporating a new protocol that addressed previously overlooked issues. That cycle resulted in a healthy pregnancy. Their patience and willingness to trust the process paid off in the most rewarding way.
Similarly, a startup founder I worked with faced multiple rejections from investors. Instead of giving up, they used each rejection as an opportunity to refine their pitch and strengthen their business model. Eventually, they secured funding and are now one of the fastest-growing companies in their sector. Their story is a testament to the power of patience and tenacity.
In both IVF and startups, patience is not a passive act. It is about actively engaging with the process, learning from each step, and making informed decisions. It’s about viewing time not as an enemy but as a friend that allows for growth and maturity.
For those embarking on an IVF journey or launching a startup, my advice is this: trust the process. Embrace the setbacks as learning opportunities. And remember that while the road may be long and winding, the destination is often more rewarding than you could have imagined.
In closing, patience is not merely waiting but understanding that some things take time. Whether it’s the creation of new life or the birth of a groundbreaking company, the most profound successes are those that have been nurtured with care, resilience, and unwavering patience. This is a lesson that my experiences in both the IVF clinic and the startup world have taught me, and I believe it’s one that will serve us all well, no matter the journey we are on.