The Perils of Prudence

Abraham Thomas with a well-expressed solution to the apparent contradiction that startups require both stamina and speed:

“If startups are a marathon, then staying power should count for more than speed. Conversely, if speed is the key, then why worry about stamina and resilience and the long haul?

“One way to resolve this contradiction is to simply say, this is why startups are hard. You have to do both: go as fast as you can for as long as you can. Sprint the marathon.

“But I think there’s a deeper resolution, and I found it in events from over a hundred years ago.”

His examples are from the golden age of Antarctic exploration, and Scott’s and Amundsen’s competing attempts to reach the South Pole.