I’m Doing Well, Thanks for Asking

25 Apr 2025

People ask me “How’s it going?” and I never really know how to answer. When you have a job, you just say “busy” and move on. When you’re trying to start something from scratch, it’s harder to summarize.

Since leaving my job a month ago, I’ve been working on building a company. I don’t have a clear idea yet, or at least one that I want to bet the next 5 years on. So, I’ve been exploring. In the past few weeks, I’ve considered: AI tools for tech writers, operational software for luxury senior living, a price tracking bot, a customer alerting framework, a travel planning app, and an open-source secure file sharing product.

I killed most of them quickly after talking to friends and users, finding existing solutions that met the need, or learning I’m not interested in the problem.

During this process, even though I’ve read endlessly about the classic startup traps, I stepped into them:

The good news is I’m now faster at spotting when something isn’t worth pursuing. This came from doing, not from reading. I wouldn’t have learned this had I stayed at my job.

But getting better at saying no doesn’t make finding a problem to solve easy. The hardest part has been dealing with the paradox of choice. The problem space feels unlimited in size. The potential distractions feel unlimited too.

To make this manageable, I’ve started setting constraints. These are things that keep me focused and make the next step feel doable and obvious.

Combining constraints with opportunities for luck has felt the most powerful. Luck doesn’t happen to you while you’re at home staring at a Google Doc. It comes to you when you’re out in the world: sharing ideas, meeting people, showing your work, taking the unexpected intro.

That’s where I’m at now. Trying to get out of my own head, out of my apartment, and into a situation where interesting things might happen.

Still exploring, but I’m doing well, thanks for asking.