Want to succeed? Admit you don't want to save the world

Excerpt from the Inc. Article, "Want to Succeed? Admit You Don't Want to Save the World," by Will Yacowicz, featuring Derek Lidow

It's fine if you did--but acknowledging your true motives, even the selfish ones, is crucial to your startup's success.

Let's get real here: Every entrepreneur is not starting a company "to make the world a better place." And admitting your real motivation, selfish or selfless, is crucial to your company's success.

Many founders have in fact changed the world for better, and many have strengthened communities, created jobs, and built incredible products. But the real reasons many entrepreneurs start their own companies are different from the fluffy, smiles-and-rainbows missions Mike Judge pokes fun at in HBO's "Silicon Valley."

It all comes down to ego. That's according to Derek Lidow, a professor of entrepreneurship at Princeton University and founder of data analysis firm iSuppli Corporation, writing in Harvard Business Review. Keep reading >>