Building

I used to think building was mostly about having a clear vision and executing it well. I now think a large part of it is knowing what to hold onto and what to let go.

I’ve changed strategies, reworked business models, killed ideas I loved, revisited ideas I dismissed and had moments where the thing we were building looked very different from what I imagined six months earlier.

That doesn’t mean the vision wasn’t strong enough. Sometimes changing direction is exactly how you protect it.

One of the hardest things about being a founder is separating commitment from attachment. Commitment says, I know what I’m trying to achieve. Attachment says, and it has to happen exactly like this.

Those are very different things.

Building Kunda Kids has made me much more comfortable with changing the route while remaining stubborn about the destination. Markets change. Money changes. Audiences tell you things you weren’t expecting. Your own understanding gets better. New information should be allowed to change your mind.

The practical question I ask myself now is: What am I actually trying to preserve here?

My advice to founders: If the answer is the mission, the customer, the quality or the long-term opportunity, protect it. If the answer is simply the original plan, I’m much more willing to let it go.

You can be deeply committed to the destination and still change your mind about how you get there.