synthia korir

Over the past year I worked closely with 10 founders. The 3 who moved fastest had one thing in common: when data contradicted their decision they changed course the next day. No ego no "I already committed to this." The 7 who struggled were often smarter better at arguing their original position more attached to the first plan.

This isn't a scientific study it's 10 people but the pattern was hard to ignore. The ability to change your mind quickly seems to matter more than the ability to defend your first idea.

So for those who've worked with or observed founders: have you seen this too or is consistency more important than speed of changing your mind? And the harder follow up: when was the last time you changed your mind within 24 hours of seeing data, and what did it cost you to do it?

I'm three weeks from launch and I have a list of fourteen things I could still build. I know I can't build all of them. What I don't have is a rule for deciding.

The rule I've been using "cut anything that isn't core" is useless, because everything feels core when you're the one who built it.

What I'm trying to get to is a single non-negotiable: the one thing that, if it's missing, the product isn't the product. Everything else is a candidate for cutting.

So for the solo makers here: what was your one non-negotiable thing at launch, and what did you cut that you thought you couldn't? And looking back, did cutting it hurt, or did nobody notice?