Knowing When to Quit: The Art of Letting Go in Entrepreneurship
By Poppy Trewhella · November 23, 2023
The rhetoric in the startup ecosystem leans heavily towards hustle culture. But how do you know if success is just around the corner, or if you're flogging a dead horse? One of the most important traits required to run a successful venture studio is knowing when to quit.
1. The problem just isn't that painful
Some problems will never be fixed. They might be frustrating but not gut wrenchingly painful. Test for pain by quantifying it in time and/or money—is it costing them 2 hours a month or 2 hours a day?
2. "The only thing holding us back is our tech"
If you can't prove there is traction or demand for your solution, spending thousands building it on React Native probably isn't going to change that.
3. You discover something you hadn't considered
Startup ideas often sound fantastic on the surface. Make a list of assumptions that need to be true for this venture to work—then test them.
4. Your heart isn't in it
Track your bad days. Every so often? Fine. Every day? Not so good. Find a great co-founder—often your bad day will be their good day.
5. A big incumbent has just eaten you for breakfast
The key thing is defensibility. What makes your product hard to copy? Sometimes you can't predict what a big enterprise will do.