Peace,
Elon Musk once recounted that running a startup is like "chewing glass and staring into the abyss." It’s a brutal yet apt description of the relentless challenges founders face.
In the world of startups, resilience isn't just a desirable trait—it’s the bedrock of survival for any founder. The journey we choose is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a relentless battle, day in and day out, where the stakes are high, and the margin for error is slim.
If there’s one truth I’ve learned, it’s that resilience is the difference between those who thrive and those who fade away.
Resilience is Forged, Not Born
The greatest leaders, the ones who push boundaries and defy odds, understand that resilience isn’t something you’re born with—it’s something you forge in the fire. It’s like steel, strengthened through repeated exposure to heat and pressure. Every setback, every failure, every moment of doubt is an opportunity to become stronger, more focused, and more determined.
When I think back on my journey with Spatial Labs, there have been countless moments where it would’ve been easier to give up. Challenges that seemed insurmountable. Clouds that cast shadows are sure to reign fire below. But each of those moments became a defining part of our story. They forced us to innovate, to think differently, to push past what we thought were our limits. That’s the art of resilience—taking what should break you and using it to make you stronger.
The Silent Battle: The Battle You Fight Alone
There’s a misconception that resilience is about brute strength or stubbornness. But real resilience is often quiet, internal. It’s the battle you fight when no one’s watching, the moments of doubt that you overcome on your own. It’s on those late nights when you’re wrestling with decisions that could make or break your company when the weight of responsibility feels almost unbearable. It’s in those moments that your true character is revealed.
Leadership can be a lonely path. As founders, we bear the weight of every decision, every failure, every success, and every loss. It’s easy to be overwhelmed, to feel isolated. But it’s in embracing that loneliness, in finding strength within yourself, that you build the resilience needed to lead others. Remember, the battles you fight alone are the ones that prepare you to win on a larger stage.
Resilience is About Adaptation
We often think of resilience as standing firm, but it’s also about knowing when to pivot and when to adapt. The startup world is volatile and unpredictable. What worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. Resilience means having the humility to acknowledge when something isn’t working and the courage to change course.
I sometimes see founders struggling with this notion. But the fact is, malleability is a part of the journey towards becoming and unbecoming until you are made whole.
It’s about being flexible, agile, and open to new ideas. The companies that survive are the ones that aren’t afraid to reinvent themselves, to challenge their own assumptions. At Spatial Labs, our resilience has been tested time and time again. We’ve had to pivot, rethink our strategies, and let go of ideas we were once passionate about. But each time, we’ve emerged stronger, more focused, and more in tune with our mission.
The Strength in Startup Vulnerability
One of the most powerful aspects of resilience is understanding that it’s okay to be vulnerable, especially in startup environments. There’s strength in admitting when you’re struggling and in asking for help when you need it. It’s a lesson I’ve had to learn the hard way—realizing that resilience doesn’t mean going it alone. It means building a support system and surrounding yourself with people who believe in your vision and who will stand by you through the toughest times.
There are countless examples of great founders asking for help from others. Some notable examples include:
- Evan Spiegel (Snapchat) Seeking Guidance from Mark Zuckerberg
- Reed Hastings (Netflix) Asking for Advice from Jeff Bezos
- Brian Chesky (Airbnb) Consulting with Former CEOs on Crisis Management
- Stewart Butterfield (Slack) Asking Bill Gates for Advice on Product Development
- Jack Dorsey (Twitter/Square) Consulting with Steve Jobs
In the startup world, where the pressure to succeed is immense, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you have to have all the answers, and that showing weakness is a flaw. But true resilience comes from being honest about where you are, about the challenges you face, and from finding the strength in that honesty. Others will always be there to help you if you approach things from the right space.
Resilience as a Culture
At Spatial Labs, I sought to make resilience a core part of our culture. It’s embedded in everything we do, from the way we approach challenges to the way we support each other. We’ve built a team that doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff, embraces the grind, and sees any form of short-term failure not as an end, but as a step toward something greater.
Creating a culture of resilience means fostering an environment where people feel empowered to take risks, to fail, to learn, and to grow. It means celebrating the small wins, the incremental progress that often goes unnoticed. It means encouraging each other to keep going, even when the odds seem stacked against us.
Final Thoughts
Resilience is the art of enduring, of pushing forward even when everything seems to be falling apart. It’s about finding strength in adversity and using that strength to propel your journey. As founders, we’re not just building companies—we’re building legacies. And the cornerstone of that legacy is resilience.
When you contextualize your survival as a battlefield, things can start to make a bit more sense.
In the heat of battle, the generals who coddled their soldiers were the ones who led them to defeat. True leadership isn't about making things easy; it's about pushing your team beyond their limits, forging resilience, identifying gaps, and preparing them for the toughest challenges. In the startup world, this is no different—it’s war every single day.
Each morning, we step onto a battlefield where survival isn’t guaranteed. Every decision and every action can be the difference between success and failure. Like in war, complacency leads to defeat. We must remain sharp, relentless, and ready to face whatever comes our way. In this environment, comfort is a luxury we can’t afford; we must be prepared to fight, innovate, and push beyond our limits because, in the world of startups, every day is a day where you can either win big or lose it all.
Ask for assistance where you need it. That missing link you've been hesitant to get guidance on might be exactly what you or your team need to survive.
Failure is a constant possibility, but it’s our resilience that keeps us in the fight. It’s what separates those who merely dream from those who turn dreams into reality.
Remember, the art of resilience isn’t just about surviving—it’s about thriving in the face of the impossible. It’s about crafting a story worth telling, one defined by grit, determination, and ultimately, victory.
I leave you with an excerpt that captures resilience and endurance from an admirable poet.
"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light." - Dylan Thomas
Soon,
Iddris Sandu Founder & CEO, Spatial Labs