#1- A Work in Progress

I'm finding it hard to find the perfect way to start this. I wanted to start sharing parts of my journey, the uncertainties, thoughts, and the highs and lows of founding a company, as I go through it, without the benefit of hindsight. Because hearing about the journey from someone who already knows how it ends feels different from hearing it from someone still in the thick of it.

I started working in the nonprofit space because I wanted to “have a nice life and help people.” I became a co-founder because I was frustrated with the sector’s inefficiencies and believed (still believe) that we have a solution to change the way charity works. Six years later, we’re still here, trying to create a life we’d be proud of and fighting for a nonprofit that can make a real difference.

So call it a founder’s support group or just a place for me to vent and show a little vulnerability. My hope is that this space can remind founders that we’re all going through it together. Building a company can feel lonely, but that doesn’t mean we are alone.

To start, I wanted to share the transcript of a video I posted a few months ago, the response to which inspired me to start this newsletter and try share more.

As an entrepreneur or founder, the path isn’t clear. It’s a grind, a journey with no endpoint or guaranteed success. When I started my nonprofit, a mentor looked me in the eye and said,

“You can do this, but it’s going to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. Harder than you can imagine.”

I smiled, nodded, and thought to myself:

What does he know? I’ve got this figured out.

The thing is, you only know how hard something is when you’re in it. You think you have perspective, but you only know what you know.

Six years later, after rejected grant proposals and moments when even I questioned my resolve, I’m here again, entering yet another adaptation of the same project. It’s had successes, sure, but never quite took off like I’d envisioned. And yet, the mission burns.

One thing I have learned: As a founder, you have to believe enough for everyone else. When the people around you glance over and say, “You’re still doing this?” you need to have the strength to answer, “Yes.” And you say it knowing there’s no guarantee this will ever pay off.

But that’s the thing about breakthroughs, they go to those who grind the longest, even with minimal results. Or so everyone says… But I guess, just like you only realize how hard something is once you’re in it, you only know if it’s going to work… when it finally does.

So this is a story without a conclusion, a message without closure, because I’m still in it. And maybe that’s the point because being a founder is about being comfortable with uncertainty, having the courage to keep moving forward without knowing what’s on the other side...

#WorkInProgress #FounderJourney #Startups