· startups · 3 min read
Move Fast, but Only If You're Pointed in the Right Direction
Speed is a powerful tool in startups, but without clear direction and founder clarity, it's a fast track to failure.
Move Fast, but Only If You’re Pointed in the Right Direction
I’ve seen this play out too many times—bright founders, ambitious teams, shipping like maniacs… and still burning out or missing the mark. Everyone’s sprinting, but no one’s checking the compass.
We’ve all heard it: “Move fast and break things.” It’s been the battle cry of startup culture, especially in Silicon Valley. But here’s my seasoned take:
Moving fast in the wrong direction just means you crash harder.
Startups don’t fail because they didn’t move fast enough. They fail because they moved fast without clarity. Speed is a multiplier, not a strategy. If you’re building the wrong thing, doing it faster won’t save you—it’ll doom you quicker.
🚀 Speed is a Weapon—But Only in the Right Hands
Speed is powerful. In the right context, it can help you:
- Learn faster
- Iterate quicker
- Stay ahead of competitors
- Build momentum
But here’s the trick: speed amplifies both brilliance and blindness.
A founder’s job isn’t just to hustle—it’s to steer. And a great founder:
- Has a clear vision (and communicates it relentlessly)
- Understands user pain deeply
- Builds tight feedback loops
- Says no more than they say yes
- Prioritizes signal over noise
When that kind of founder moves fast, it’s smart speed. Intentional. Directional. Relentless with purpose.
🧨 The Dark Side of Speed
Silicon Valley culture often equates speed with success. TechCrunch publishes glowing profiles of hypergrowth startups, VCs pressure for blitzscaling, and peer comparison turns every milestone into a measuring contest.
But let’s talk real:
1. Premature Scaling
You raise a seed round, and the pressure kicks in. Investors expect movement, traction, hires. You start scaling before you even know what’s working. That money disappears fast, and so does optionality.
2. Hype-Driven Roadmaps
Founders start building for headlines. You’re not shipping for users—you’re shipping for attention. You mimic what you see in trending SaaS tools or AI demos on Twitter. But mimicry without understanding leads to empty features and shallow products.
3. Burnout Culture
Fast doesn’t mean frantic. But too often, it turns into 80-hour weeks of “grind mode,” building without feedback, hustling without alignment, and ending up with a tired team and a confused product.
✅ When Speed Does Make Sense
Speed becomes your superpower only when you’ve aligned three things:
- The right problem
- The right audience
- A feedback loop that speaks truth
When you’re grounded in clarity, speed lets you:
- Test ideas rapidly
- Ship value instead of noise
- Build a culture of action
- Iterate from reality, not assumption
That’s when you’re moving fast and in the right direction.
🧭 My Challenge to You
If you’re a founder or builder, I want you to ask yourself:
- Are we moving fast because we know where we’re going?
- Or are we just afraid of falling behind?
The pressure’s real—investors want results, the ecosystem celebrates momentum, and it’s easy to get caught up in vanity metrics or hype-driven moves. But don’t sacrifice your clarity just to feed the speed god.
And hey, if you’re unsure where your direction is taking you, I’d love to help.
We run focused brainstorming sessions and strategic check-ins with founders and small teams—designed to slow things down just long enough to ensure you’re pointing true north.
👉 Hit me up if you want an outside lens on your roadmap, or a sanity check on your current sprint. Moving fast can be a gift—but only when it’s guided by wisdom.
Keep building with clarity,
– Jake
