We are at an inflection point in the business.
Everyone likes to talk about “zero to one” for startups.
That "zero to one" stage has quickly evolved into "zero to default alive".
Even with this bigger goal tacked on, I think that stage was easier than the one we are moving into now: The one-to-ten stage.
(We hit "default alive" back in the spring, so it could also be that I've forgotten what it was like to wake up every day with existential runway dread. 😬)
The scrappy improvisation and the thrill of every micro win have faded.
- We need to sustain what's working, knowing full well that it won't get us to where we want to go next.
- Every system we built previously is insufficient.
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We are winging it while tackling new, harder problems and simultaneously building a new, repeatable system.
Everyone's job is changing (including my own), and every weakness in the product, org, and market is rearing its head all at once.
Fun times. Welcome to 2026! 🥳
FWIW, I wouldn't have it any other way.
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h/t to Bobby Nap for acknowledging that this stage is hard. It's easy to beat yourself up, thinking it should be easier.
And yes, I am deliberately blocking out the debilitating hole of immorality and violence around us all right now and choosing to laser in on Jillian Manus's sage advice, "when things look dark, invest in hope".
