Assume your startup will die
The most blunt advice I can give you is to assume your startup will die, then fight relentlessly to keep it alive.
Founders get distracted. Teams lose urgency. One day, it’s too late. The writing is on the wall.
Startups die slowly, then suddenly.
This mindset isn’t pessimism. It’s fuel. It forces clarity.
When you assume death is the default…
You stop arguing over small stuff.
You stop chasing pixel perfection.
You stop pretending you have time.
You call customers instead of waiting for email replies.
You ship when it’s “good enough.”
You make decisions in minutes, not days.
Startups without existential urgency don’t win.
The founders who survive are the ones who wake up assuming the worst… and work like hell to prove themselves wrong.