Post‑YC slump is something I’m trying to avoid at all costs.
I encourage you to read this by Sam Altman.
Over the past few weeks, my co‑founder and I have been using the phrase “clear thinking” almost every day. During YC, I wanted to do everything: ship new features, recruit, run paid ads, spin up creative campaigns. It felt like momentum, but I was simply reacting to whatever seemed urgent.
I actually avoided building many of those things at the very last moment—and I’m glad I did. A few examples:
- A big product feature that no one had actually asked for
- A hiring push that would have created more chaos than clarity
- Paid‑marketing experiments I wasn’t ready to track properly
All of those looked like progress. They weren’t.
The real work was sitting right in front of me: product development, listening to users, and shipping the painful but important improvements. I learned this the hard way: acting fast doesn’t always mean moving forward. Many of my regrets stemmed from reacting too quickly, chasing noise instead of signal. That kind of movement creates liabilities more often than outcomes.
It’s easy to mistake mere movement for momentum.
Saying no to protect what matters is harder, but also far more valuable.
November 22, 2025