Thanks for writing this, exactly how it feels from a founder's POV, running a hardware company :) Managing customer delays on pre-orders, a waitlist of 8k, R&D, and supply at the same time. Sometimes I feel like I'm becoming an asshole. But now I have more clarity on what to do once things are in peacetime. Till then, heads down, getting things done.
This really hit me, but I think there’s a deeper truth here.
You convince an employee to stick around, to pass up that MBA because you sold them the vision. And they trust you. You look an early investor in the eye, the one who put their money on the line when no one else would, and you promise them a return. They bet on you, not just the idea, when everything was still uncertain. That’s a huge responsibility.
So, when things get messy, when growth plateaus, when sales slow down or crises hit, it’s not just about you anymore—it’s about fulfilling those promises. And that pressure can make you hard. It can make you impatient, demanding, even ruthless at times. Not because you want to be, but because you feel like you have to be. You don’t want to let down the people who believed in you.
It’s not easy. There’s no manual for this, and honestly, I don’t think there’s a founder out there who hasn’t felt torn between staying the dreamer and becoming the person who has to take on the tough decisions, often without explanations. You start to prioritize survival over everything else—getting through the day, the week, the year—and that can make you seem distant, difficult, or just plain harsh.
I think it's the emotional toll of trying to keep it all together. It’s because we feel the weight of everything we’ve built, and the promises we’ve made to the people who got us here. The real challenge is finding a way to get through that pressure without completely losing yourself. At the end of the day, it’s about survival—for the business, for the people who trusted you, and for your own sanity. And in that fight, sometimes the lines get blurred!
Becoming an "asshole" takes a lot of courage for founders who are not natural at it. Ultimately, its about a larger good at cost of some collateral damage, and one needs to take them in stride. Mr. Nice Guy doesn't survive in tough times.
Every journey has its challenges, the ups and the downs, but I wish you the best of luck, sir! For the sake of TWT's shared vision and mission, we hope you'll continue to be the consumers' Dark Knight.
I think we have been conditioned to be fit in a box how entrepreneur should be? we never realise that way we evolve as person from childhood, to teen to adult to middle age and beyond we need to change as entrepreneur. It is important to be authentic , stick to value system and be open to change.
This one hits home, and then some. Being able to hold one's authentic self through both peacetime and wartime is hard, but separates the real you vs the...well...a$$hole who was only pretending to be nice earlier! Reveals the 'inner core' minus the husk. Good to see you are honest to a great mirror in the form of an equally honest team.
Loved this take. I love the fact that you have reflected over very common patterns of founders into a classic "we will figure it out" monologue.
what a fabulous articulation !
Thanks for writing this. Kind of resonate with what you wrote!
Thanks for writing this, exactly how it feels from a founder's POV, running a hardware company :) Managing customer delays on pre-orders, a waitlist of 8k, R&D, and supply at the same time. Sometimes I feel like I'm becoming an asshole. But now I have more clarity on what to do once things are in peacetime. Till then, heads down, getting things done.
This really hit me, but I think there’s a deeper truth here.
You convince an employee to stick around, to pass up that MBA because you sold them the vision. And they trust you. You look an early investor in the eye, the one who put their money on the line when no one else would, and you promise them a return. They bet on you, not just the idea, when everything was still uncertain. That’s a huge responsibility.
So, when things get messy, when growth plateaus, when sales slow down or crises hit, it’s not just about you anymore—it’s about fulfilling those promises. And that pressure can make you hard. It can make you impatient, demanding, even ruthless at times. Not because you want to be, but because you feel like you have to be. You don’t want to let down the people who believed in you.
It’s not easy. There’s no manual for this, and honestly, I don’t think there’s a founder out there who hasn’t felt torn between staying the dreamer and becoming the person who has to take on the tough decisions, often without explanations. You start to prioritize survival over everything else—getting through the day, the week, the year—and that can make you seem distant, difficult, or just plain harsh.
I think it's the emotional toll of trying to keep it all together. It’s because we feel the weight of everything we’ve built, and the promises we’ve made to the people who got us here. The real challenge is finding a way to get through that pressure without completely losing yourself. At the end of the day, it’s about survival—for the business, for the people who trusted you, and for your own sanity. And in that fight, sometimes the lines get blurred!
Loved this piece, chewing on it as context is timely!
context for this, i assume, is always timely :)
Becoming an "asshole" takes a lot of courage for founders who are not natural at it. Ultimately, its about a larger good at cost of some collateral damage, and one needs to take them in stride. Mr. Nice Guy doesn't survive in tough times.
Phenomenal piece
Every journey has its challenges, the ups and the downs, but I wish you the best of luck, sir! For the sake of TWT's shared vision and mission, we hope you'll continue to be the consumers' Dark Knight.
Wish more founders could accept this, speak about it and that more of them were understood better. :)
I think we have been conditioned to be fit in a box how entrepreneur should be? we never realise that way we evolve as person from childhood, to teen to adult to middle age and beyond we need to change as entrepreneur. It is important to be authentic , stick to value system and be open to change.
This one hits home, and then some. Being able to hold one's authentic self through both peacetime and wartime is hard, but separates the real you vs the...well...a$$hole who was only pretending to be nice earlier! Reveals the 'inner core' minus the husk. Good to see you are honest to a great mirror in the form of an equally honest team.