Nobody Tells You What Happens When Your Co-Founders Stop Believing

When we started the company, there were four of us.

Four people around the same table, talking about what it could become, sharing one simple belief: this was going to work.

It's easy to believe in something when you're four.

When sales are slow, someone tells you next month will be better. When a customer says no, you go find another one. When things don't go according to plan, there's always someone else at the table who still sees the opportunity.

Then things change.

People move on. One leaves. Then another. Eventually, you're standing there alone — not because the company failed, but simply because the people around you started believing in other things.

And suddenly, no one is saying it anymore: this is going to work.

That might be one of the hardest parts of building a company. Right as you start to question yourself, the people around you may start telling you it won't work. They see the numbers. They see the mistakes. They see how much is still left to do.

And maybe they're right. There's no guarantee your company will succeed.

But there's also no guarantee that it won't.

I think that's where much of the difference between having an idea and actually building a company lives.

You don't need to be certain it will work. You just need to be willing to show up tomorrow and try to make it work anyway.

That sounds like a small distinction. It isn't.

Because when everyone around you has started believing the project is dead, you don't need more motivation. You need endurance.

Sometimes there's only one person left who still believes in it.

That doesn't mean they're right.

But as long as that person keeps showing up, there will always be a chance for success.