Everything feels hard in the beginning.

Closing your first deal feels like moving mountains, but the 100th, it flows.

Attracting your first investor takes everything you’ve got. The 100th, the momentum helps.

Hiring your first employee keeps you up at night. But hiring the 100th, you already know the playbook.

Building the first version is messy while the 100th is refined and repeatable.

The truth is that the first of anything is always the hardest.

But there’s no light without dark, no growth without discomfort.

The Unspoken Tax on Starting

​Starting anything new isn't just difficult—it comes with an unspoken tax that you pay upfront. This tax isn't just money; it's time, sanity, doubt, and effort.

​The First Blog Post: You wrestle with imposter syndrome and stare at a blinking cursor for an hour. You wonder if anyone will read it, or worse, if they'll mock it. The 100th post? You've found your voice, you know your audience, and you publish it with confidence.

​The First Website Launch: It’s a Frankenstein monster of duct tape and late nights. You agonize over every font and image. The 100th product update, however, is a seamless, methodical rollout managed by a well-oiled team.

​The First Cold Email: It feels like a massive gamble. You overthink every word, fearing rejection. The 100th? You've tested subject lines, proven your value proposition, and you treat it like a predictable step in a process.

​The First Failure: It's devastating. It makes you question the entire mission. The 100th setback is simply data. It’s a prompt to pivot, not a reason to quit.

​The difficulty of the "first" isn't a sign you're bad at it; it's a sign you're breaking new ground. You're building a foundation where previously there was only raw earth. There are no templates, no muscle memory, and no shortcuts. You have to invent the wheel, the axle, and the road all at once.

Keep going. Push through the firsts.

Because once you break through, you will go further than you think.

But here’s the beautiful part: the lessons learned from the first are 10x more valuable than those learned from the 100th. That initial struggle forces you to be resourceful, creative, and utterly focused on survival. It’s what gives you the grit to scale. You never forget the difficulty of that first step, and it grounds you for every step that follows.

​This initial struggle is necessary for growth, isn't it?

​#TheFrictionOfTheFirst #StartupLife #GrowthMindset #KeepGoing