No One in This World Can Take the Place of the Startup Founder.

No one in this world can take the place of the startup founder.

Talented early employees will not; they bring boundless energy and brilliance to the mission, but also retain the freedom to leave once options are vested and odds look long.

Experienced executives will not; we have no shortage of experts who have mastered every lesson from the last campaign and are perfectly prepared to lose the next one.

Investors will not; they are full of opinions about what should be built, and how, but none will bear the full weight of the consequences when things go wrong.

The founder alone carries a responsibility that cannot be delegated: the stubborn, irrational belief that this company should exist, and the willingness to make it real, irrespective of the valuation and no matter the cost.

(With appreciation to Calvin Coolidge)