“Don’t study Elon if you’re making $0.”
Justin Welsh posted about this on LinkedIn recently.
I’ve always wondered about entrepreneurs who study people leagues and leagues farther along. Yes, it would help if you surrounded yourself with people who have made it farther than you, but you need someone who can relate. The types of problems the “Elon’s of the world” are solving are not remotely the same as the vast majority of the population.
Find someone in the same (or adjacent) industry that is 2-5x your size. That means that they have recently gone through many of the same challenges as you and can help you avoid pitfalls.
You’ll be surprised how many people are willing to talk and share.