ephelant

Yes, I agree that it's quite a balancing act. I find myself teetering between those two states, more often leaning on the pessimistic side of things which I may be incorrectly categorising as being realistic. I think I might just have to improve my communication with the team to show and explain both sides of my thinking, the good and the bad.

You're last sentence really resonates as I think uncertainty is sometimes the most difficult thing to manage. There's always the possibility that death or success is just around the corner but I guess that is just part of the lifestyle I chose.

Thank you very much for sharing your time and your story. You have given me a lot to ponder on :)

Thank you for sharing that story. That’s definitely a very useful skill to have as it saves time and hope for better prospects.

I’ve had similar experiences where people seem very interested and set up endless meetings, but nothing concrete ever happens. I’ve started to sometimes get a sense of when a meeting is going nowhere, but personally it’s been difficult to know when I might be being realistic, vs being pessimistic/defeatist. As you put it, I might not be there yet, but will keep working on it.

Yes, I am a founder, and your point about the perception of future investors/stakeholders is very valuable and worth remembering.

Thank you very much for sharing your perspective :)

Thank you for your response. I very much appreciate the insight.

Thank you. The message in the first two sentences are useful to keep in mind as they give very measurable signals.

I'm curious about the objective truth in the last sentence. In the case where a team is dedicated but lacks the skillset/timing to hit achieve their goals, that statement implies that the team isn't on-board enough, which may not be true.

My concern is that while that statement can sometimes act as a motivator, it may also push a team forward even in circumstances where there may be considerable rational evidence (from the perspective of an informed observer) to wrap things up instead.

I'd very much appreciate your thoughts on this.

Thank you so much for that detailed reply, especially on so personal a topic.

It's obvious from the question that it is a reflection on my current predicament. I'm at a place where the company is doing okay, but not great. Part of me wants to move on, but the other part - fuelled by legendary startup stories where things took off or turned around at the last minute - wants to keep going till it's officially dead. Before posting my question, I was debating whether asking the question itself served as a signal for my company's demise, but I am glad that didn't stop me. I feel like the point where I am too afraid to even consider the possibility - perhaps because then I truly know the answer - would be worse than just seeking more knowledge/wisdom.

It's very useful to have a community where I can learn from very experienced people such as yourself and use that information to augment my knowledge.

Thanks again for your thoughts.