👋 Hey friends,

"Be stubborn on the vision and flexible on the details"

I've been thinking about this Richard Branson quote a lot lately. It perfectly captures the delicate balancing act of building something new: unwavering commitment to where you're going, combined with complete openness about how you get there.

Three weeks into this startup journey, and I'm experiencing this firsthand. The vision remains rock solid, changing the way startups and creators interact, but many things have evolved along the way.

The most significant change? I'm no longer going it alone. I've brought on co-founders who share the same vision and passion. I'll tell you more about who they are in due time. We aren't close to launch yet, but when it comes, it will come with a bang. The right people appeared with the same fire and vision.

Our approach is evolving too. Initial conversations with friends in the same arena has highlighted some key structure questions that we need to answer.

Here's what I'm learning: my vision gives me a North Star to navigate by, while flexibility in the details allows me to adapt to the terrain as I discover it. Without my stubborn vision, I'd end up wandering aimlessly. Without flexibility, I'd march determinedly off a cliff.

The Pace Paradox

I used to get the consistent feedback: "Jonny, you're moving too fast. It's not sustainable. You will burn out. You aren't leaving a trail for others to come with you."

At the time, this probably was good advice. I somewhat disregarded it as my style was working, but in retrospect, there was wisdom there. I even changed my screensaver to read "Move Slow" as a constant reminder to pace myself.

Now I've flipped it to "Think Fast."

Because in startup land, I'm discovering that speed is a requirement. The timeline compression is fairly terrifying. Decisions I would have given myself a week to make now need to happen before lunch.

Alex Hormozi talks about the "unreasonable volume" required to succeed, and how most people dramatically underestimate it. He says don't make decisions by the end of the week or month, make them by the end of the day. Move through the world faster.

I'm trying to embody this. When I catch myself saying "I'll decide by next week," I stop and ask: "Can I decide by tomorrow? By tonight?" Usually, I can.

But I'll be honest, this pace creates anxiety. There's an ever-present fear of making the wrong call, of missing something critical because I didn't take enough time. I'm working on getting comfortable with this discomfort, recognising that in this context, the cost of moving too slowly often exceeds the cost of occasional mistakes made at speed.

I guess what I'm saying is: move at the pace the problem demands, not the pace that feels comfortable.

Until next week,
Jonny