Starting a business is hard. Founders must not only have vision, they need to have the passion and courage to follow that vision, wherever it takes them, whatever the demands. The bigger the vision, the bigger the risk, and nobody accepts risk without a conviction that is sometimes called gut instinct, or faith, or sometimes even craziness. I’m one of those people who seems to have an unlimited tolerance for risk, with visions that sometimes take years to develop before I can even discuss them publicly. I’ve been called ‘crazy’ too many times to count. My autistic son has helped me qualify the title as “crazy in the greatest possible way.” Well, “here’s to the crazy ones,” Steve Jobs said, “…the rebels, the troublemakers…The ones who see things differently…you can disagree with them, glorify or vilify them…but they change things.”

I’m no Steve Jobs, but I have a vision I have been crazy enough to pursue with a passion for almost five years: to bring hope to 46 million desperate Alzheimer’s sufferers around the world. Sometimes I feel that I didn’t choose this mission, that it was given to me to by the universe because it was a journey destined to be so hard that it required that rare individual who had an unlimited tolerance for risk, an ability to focus vision into a laser beam, while simultaneously withstanding doubt, criticism, and even personal condemnation. Of course, I haven’t been able to do it alone; I’ve been very lucky to have team members, family and friends who have cheered me on, sometimes picked me up, and reminded me just who I am, as one of my best friends Becky likes to characterize: someone who has set many lofty dreams before and turned them into realities. Of all those grand dreams and Next Big Dreams I’ve had during my life, none is bigger or grander than our mission to bring hope to 46 million desperate Alzheimer’s sufferers. And so I have persevered.

One of my favorite quotes is from Oprah: “The voices of the world will drown out the voice of God if you let them.” Oprah credits instinct for her success and I couldn’t agree more. Your belief that you are following a vision that was given to you designed to bring the greatest good to the most people, is what will get you through dark nights of second-guessing engendered by criticism, misunderstanding, and short-sightedness of others. For me, it’s not so much instinct as it is Faith. I suppose I have an unlimited abundance of Faith to counterbalance my unlimited tolerance for risk. Then the work is not so much hard, as it is necessary.

So here we are, on the eve of launching our technology to world at the upcoming international StartupGrind Conference in Silicon Valley Feb 11-12th. The fear and hard work over almost five years is turning into excitement as the criticisms fall away and the vision shines through. Vision is intoxicating and empowering and contagious; everyone wants to be part of something that can change the world and bring hope to millions. The business risks exponentially grow as we put our ideas out there, but they’re already gaining the attention of people who can exponentially reward our work through investor capital, and strategic partnerships with multinational manufacturers and distributors of health care products that millions depend on around the world.

Take a deep breath. After almost five years of building the rocket, it’s time to launch.

Thank you for your support,

Kim Lavine