When Money Makes You Lazy

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.”
—Steve Jobs

Everyone wants more money when launching a startup. But the truth is, too much money too soon can actually ruin you. It can push you away from the creativity table—the very place where new ventures are born and sustained.

Dreamers, entrepreneurs, and social innovators often work with limited resources. And while that can be hard, it also forces us to get creative with how we find solutions.

The truth is: Money Can Keep You from Working (as Hard as You Should).

Have you ever met a team with a brilliant idea, only to see them stall once they got funded? It’s like watching someone try to drive a race car with flat tires. They’ve got all the horsepower, but they can’t get anywhere.

Several years ago, I was watching Shark Tank when two young entrepreneurs landed $50,000 for a portion of their company. Their product looked amazing. The Shark was convinced it would sell—and honestly, I was too. I was ready to buy.

But after the cameras stopped rolling, they made a fatal mistake.

They threw a party. Not just any party—a massive, over-the-top, $50,000 celebration. The drinks were flowing. Their friends were hyped. It looked like they were “winning.”

Except they weren’t.

The influx of cash made it feel like money would always come easy. And with that illusion, their sense of urgency vanished. The hunger that had driven them dried up. They got lazy, overconfident, and disconnected from the creative hustle that had brought them this far.

That $50,000 was like a sugar rush: a jolt of energy followed by a crash. Without the pressure to survive, they stopped grinding. They stopped creating. And their business tanked. The Shark lost money. The product never made it to market. And I didn’t get what I was excited to buy.

Here’s the hard truth: not having money makes you desperate—and desperation can be a gift. It keeps you moving. When resources are scarce, you’re forced to think differently, to hustle harder, to problem-solve like your life depends on it—because in a way, it does.

So, don’t be so quick to chase funding. Stay close to the creative table. Keep the hunger. That’s where the real work—and the real magic—happens.