Goizueta alumnus and serial entrepreneur Faizan Bhatty 14BBA reflects on the self-belief it takes to embrace uncertainty, take risks, and keep building.
Entrepreneur Faizan Bhatty 14BBA knows something about taking a leap. After beginning his career at Google, Bhatty co-founded Halo Cars while pursuing his MBA at the Wharton School. The rideshare advertising startup was acquired by Lyft within a year, and Bhatty went on to help build and lead the company’s advertising business. In 2021, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
Today, Bhatty is back in the founder’s seat as founder and CEO of Wizard Perks, an AI-powered employee perks platform. As he takes on his latest entrepreneurial venture, he reflects on the role self-belief plays in taking risks, weathering rejection, and pursuing the opportunities that scare us most.
Buckle Up and Brace for Takeoff
Two years ago, my wife and I took my 6-year-old twin nephews for their very first amusement park experience. With their youthful adrenaline on their side, they rode every ride that their 4-foot height allowed, with one exception: Superman.
Superman carries passengers vertically up a 100-foot tower and then drops them unexpectedly. The daredevils onboard can be held at the top of the tower for up to 10 seconds, with the randomness further adding to the ride’s thrill. The looming presence of Superman led many park visitors, including my nephews, to skip that ride entirely.
This year, my nephews journeyed to that same amusement park with their parents, and one of them mustered up the courage to embark on Superman, not once, but twice. I asked him afterward what had changed from two years ago. He simply replied, “I believed in myself.”
Thinking about this third grader’s unintentional words of wisdom still brings a smile to my face. Most career-defining opportunities are presented to us in the form of this amusement park ride: The entrance is often right in front of us, and the only real blocker preventing us from boarding the next adventure is a mental one.
Every single entrepreneur I’ve met—regardless of their accolades, prior accomplishments, or Ivy League pedigrees—has a “Superman” in their lives that they’re nervous to face. This can take the shape of landing the next big client, securing the next round of funding, or simply surviving the daily thrills of company-building.
But if that individual possesses unconditional belief in what they’re building, all other obstacles can be written off as small hiccups in a long journey of perseverance. In a founder’s dictionary, confidence and conviction are synonymous with the simple sentiment of “I believe in myself,” which is perhaps the single trait that differentiates a good entrepreneur from a great one.
Building something from scratch and convincing others to invest their capital, time, and trust in your venture requires an extraordinary level of continued self-belief. If this near-delusional optimism ceases to exist, the entire foundation of a company begins to develop dangerous and irreparable cracks that can be felt by everyone—investors, clients, and the core team.
With all the sporadic highs and lows of running an early-stage business, I often find myself euphorically waking up one day feeling like I’m on the cusp of unlocking the next greatest frontier for my business. Later that same day, a rejection from a prospective customer can feel like a carefully orchestrated punch to the gut. “I believe in myself” is the mantra that keeps me motivated, excited, and driven to continue the arduous journey of entrepreneurship against all odds.
Much like my nephew, I too am buckled in: excited, smiling, slightly nervous, and patiently bracing as the amusement park ride accelerates toward the top. Whether summiting the 100-foot tower takes 10 seconds or 10 years is largely irrelevant—Superman rewards those who choose to board it.
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