Gary Ong | August 8th, 2021

A startup is, by definition, something temporary. It starts as a singular manifestation of a founder’s will crossed with the needs of a time. The successful ones become companies while the unsuccessful ones enter the compost pile from which new startups emerge.

Yet, as employees at a startup, we can become attached to the temporary and forget the long term. The hustle at breakneck speeds, while stressful, is also addictive. Every week, there is something new to celebrate: new funding, new technical breakthroughs, a new hire. Every week, there is something new to mourn: lost funding, wrong data, someone you may have to fire. At some point, you learn to accept and appreciate the swing of the times. You crave the highs. You may even crave the lows knowing that it will make the next high feel even better.

The goal of a startup is to not be a startup. The goal is to grow, mature, and evolve into a company: a sustainable entity with a group of people set out to bring forth an idea or mission. A good sign that things are heading in the right direction is when the highs and the lows start becoming less frequent, and less intense. Yes, you’ll loose the thrill of the chase and the righteous anger of a lost hunt. But, that’s a good thing. Embrace it. Don’t manufacture fires in your mind just so you can put them out. Focus instead on the new entity that you are now a part of: a company. Focus instead on making the company the best that it can be.