In its infancy, a startup is a delicate thing.
People won’t rush to your door or shower you with praise. In fact, most won’t even take the time to shower you with criticism, even when your product sorely deserves it.
VCs, founders, and startup luminaries all seem to agree that before Product-Market fit, startups take grit to keep going.
But what is grit?
I think grit is a paradoxical mix of hubris and humility.
To disrupt an industry, you need to have the hubris, the unmitigated gall, to believe you can do something radically different and significantly better than everyone else.
And to have any staying power, you need to have the humility to listen to criticism, accept the parts that are valid and valuable, and change course appropriately.
In my experience, few founders posses the balance required to manifest both these traits sufficiently.