[throwaway9191a]

I worked with a CEO who shared this sentiment about history. After two months with no paychecks, half truths about our funding, and the dev team quitting, he wanted me to start building up a crew of contractors.

After asking what he would change, he told me he had no time to look at the past and could only look ahead.

I learned if you have enough money and lawyers, the past doesn't matter because you can enforce trust through litigation. But if you have to take people on their word, then their history becomes important. I didn't rebuild the team.

I'm sure there is some deeper lesson here between "smarmy business folks" and more principle driven individuals.