I just finished reading the text of the Startup Riot 2009 keynote presented by Chris Wanstrath, one of the co-founders of GitHub & FamSpam.  If you have an entrepreneurial mind, you will really enjoy reading it.

You can read the 2009 Startup Riot keynote text here

Chris emphasizes the importance of loving the work that you do and the role that plays in the success of an endeavor.  Passion for your own product or service may be the number one factor in the success of a start-up.  So many entrepreneurs are completely focused on developing ideas that they think will make a million bucks (Hopefully…Maybe…).  Although money is a nice incentive to developing a concept or idea, it should not be the single most important factor.  Focus on ideas that you love, not like.

One of the most interesting things that I grabbed from the keynote was the fact that one of the company’s founders would actually pay to use his own service.  Not only would he pay to use the site, he is one of the most active users!  Action is a true sign of passion.  A pivotal point in the company’s growth occurred when users started contacting Chris to tell him that they wanted to pay to use the site.  What an amazing feeling that must be for the founder of a website.

Would you pay to use your own product or service?