In previous posts I discuss the epic failure of my previous company, Fab, as venture investment.
Today, as we publicly launch Pepo, I want to share some of the thoughts running through my head.
This post is not a pitch for Pepo. There’s time for that later. Rather, this post is about my personal journey as a serial founder, turning the page and starting anew.
Candid thoughts on Pepo launch day:
Gratitude.
First, I feel gratitude to the amazing Pepo team who have stuck with me through Fab and Hem and who have worked so incredibly hard and passionately this year to build the Pepo product. While from the outside it is me who has been rebounding, the truth is that we’ve all been in this together, rebounding together. Any one of you could have left at any time to join another company with another leader, and I am so proud and grateful for how we all stuck together and rallied this year. I have always held the belief that people perform best when they want to, not because they have to, and your tireless and epic efforts this year on behalf of Pepo — your Pepo — have proven that point many times over. You should be so proud. And I am so thankful.
Second, gratitude to the several former Fab investors and advisors who have joined me on this new journey.
Third, gratitude to the hundreds of Pepo volunteer beta testers who provided us with more than 500 points of direct and valuable feedback the past weeks. We could not have reached today’s milestone without your QA lists, bug reports, and feature requests, none of which you had to do, all of which we are thankful for.
Realism.
Pepo is a messaging app. Messaging is a crowded space. We’re hopeful that we’ve come up with something that many people will find unique, compelling, and engaging, but we are under no illusion that it will be easy.
About the only thing I’m 100% confident of is that we are going to have to iterate and iterate to find and earn our traction.
Our best “growth hack” is to focus on authentic engagement: We shall attempt to prove it one user at a time, one day at a time, one milestone at a time.
Humility.
I am 44 years old. In my career I have tasted success and failure, triumph and humiliation. I have made people proud and I have caused great disappointment. Yet, I try again — with humility and fueled by lessons learned.
I am reminded today of the legendary words of Lionel from the movie “Maid in Manhattan.”
What we do does not define who we are. What defines us is how well we rise after falling. — Lionel, the butler in Maid in Manhattan.
I am lucky to have the opportunity to start companies, and to be able to start again after failure. To be able to do so is a privilege, not a right.
I get excited about inventing user experiences and building products. I try to make stuff that people like.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But I am going to keep at it, keep trying, keep learning, and keep improving.
My greatest hope with Pepo is that people respect us: Respect the product we’re building, respect the company we’re running, and respect the integrity of our actions and behaviors.
Optimism.
Pepo has huge potential! Will it work? No idea. Does it have a shot? Absolutely.