A startup is a sports team

AI is blurring the lines between engineering, product and design. Specialization still matters and so does your primary position, but the baseline skill level across disciplines is compressing fast.

A top-tier PM should be able to make basic product changes. A top-tier designer should be able to build a working prototype on a git branch. A top-tier engineer should be able to reason about product and design.

This is why I think of a startup as a professional sports team and not a set of departments. A great athlete has a position, but can still play elsewhere when the team needs it.

My test: imagine everyone sitting in a circle. Snap your fingers and everyone moves one seat to the left. The work should keep moving.

That takes high-agency people. It also takes infrastructure that makes switching positions cheap, and a process designed around the team you have instead of one copied from someone else’s playbook.

Train like an athlete¶

Professional sports have seasons. The on-season is when the team is working toward a meaningful release. Focus goes up, intensity goes up and everyone does what is needed to ship.

Then comes a short off-season. Reset, fix bugs, pay down debt, improve the system, learn and recover. Then compete again.

You cannot play a championship game every day. I do not want permanent intensity from a team. I want a team that is capable of intensity when it matters.

Pressure is a privilege. Being able to show up for the journey is a privilege too. Give it your best.

Design your life¶

I do not believe much in hard walls between work and life. Family matters. Work matters. Rest matters. Growth often hurts.

I trust people to know when work should come first, when family should come first and when they simply need a break. Build a life you actually want to live.

Have something outside of work that challenges you. It could be competitive mountain biking, triathlons, running, sailing, long-range shooting, go-kart racing, flying, building rockets, powerlifting or something completely different.

If you do not have that thing yet, explore. Ask the people you work with what theirs is. Try things. Find something that makes you a beginner again.