🔥 Burn the boats

The Progress Report | March 11, 2025

“The numbers don’t support that decision.” 

“We've invested too much to go back now.” 

“The market isn't ready for this.”

Every visionary founder has heard these objections. But the most transformative businesses aren't built by clinging to the past—they're built by founders who trust their vision enough to make unpopular decisions.

Today’s about having the courage to follow your intuition, even when it means leaving the “safe” path behind. Yes, we'll look at a giant company (Netflix), but the principles apply whether you have 5 customers or 5 million.

In this newsletter:

• How Reed Hastings risked Netflix's entire business model on a vision only he could see

• A simple practice to reconnect with why you started your business in the first place

WEEKLY INSIGHT

In 2011, Netflix was thriving. With 24 million subscribers and a dominant position in DVD-by-mail rentals, the business that Reed Hastings had built was a success story.

Then Hastings made one of the most criticized business decisions of the decade: splitting Netflix into two services and raising prices by 60%. The DVD business would become “Qwikster,” while streaming would remain as Netflix.

The reaction was swift and brutal. Netflix lost 800,000 subscribers in a single quarter. The stock plummeted 77%. The media declared it a disaster.

Everyone was asking, why? Why would a successful founder deliberately torpedo his own business model?

Simple. Hastings wasn't running his company based on sunk costs or present comfort—he was following his conviction about where entertainment was heading.

While it’s widely accepted that the way Netflix made this change left (a lot of) room for improvement, Hastings is a household name because he didn't abandon his core vision. And now look where we are.

Hastings' story illuminates a crucial truth: As a founder, your most valuable contribution is your ability to see what others don't (yet). Your responsibility is to be the tastemaker, the vision-holder, the one who can distinguish between a temporary setback and a fundamental misalignment.

The sunk cost fallacy—continuing a behaviour because of previously invested resources—keeps countless founders trapped in businesses that don't align with their deeper vision. They've already built the thing. They've already hired the team. They've already told everyone this is what they're doing.

But the most successful founders know: what you did yesterday doesn’t matter. It’s what you do today that defines you.

INTENT TO ACTION

Reconnect with the role that only you can play in your business—the person who sets the standard for what's worth pursuing and what's not. You can do this with three short exercises:

The original spark

Take 10 minutes to write about why you started your business. Not the market opportunity, not the growth potential—the thing that made you, personally, care enough to build this.

What were you trying to create in the world?

Authenticity assessment

For each major element of your business (product lines, marketing channels, customer segments), score them from 1 to 10 on how aligned they feel with your core vision. Be honest—this is just for you.

Permission slip 

Write down three instances where your intuition proved right in your business, despite contrary advice.

Now write down three instances where ignoring your instincts led to problems.

This builds conscious awareness of your intuition’s track record. This is your permission slip: the thing that gives you permission to try and, sometimes, to fail, by reminding you of all the times you were right.

CLOSING THOUGHT

If you struggle with self-assurance, it’s cool. No, really; it’s completely normal. A 2020 study found that 99% of entrepreneurs face Imposter Syndrome of some degree, with over 80% dealing with it regularly.

You won’t always be right, and you don’t have to be. You just need to be willing to trust yourself and take a few chances.

Next week, we'll explore how you can bring your vision to life, while still being mindful of market feedback.

See you then.

YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE

Tell us your why. 

Respond to this email with a text, audio or video note explaining why you created your business. We’d love to hear it.