[mkl95]

> So when a startup comes to me with an idea for an experiment, the one thing I tell them is: make sure that there’s a well-defined distinction between success and failure. Don't fall in the messy middle.

Mediocrity is often enough to put food on the table. The world is full of companies aiming to survive for a few more quarters with their little mediocre product. And once a company embraces that idea there's usually no going back.

[henry2023]

I know a guy who settled with a mediocre product that put food on the table. He kept it running for the most part of the 2010s. Then, out of nothing someone came and acquired his company for ~ $14mm. He had no investors and just a handful of workers.

[kijin]

Settling down with a mediocre product that sustains your company should probably count as success. The vast majority of startups fail, after all. You might have failed to produce a unicorn, but at least you've got a decent workhorse.

[sgarman]

VC's have twisted the idea of what a success is for normal entrepreneurs because it doesn't fit VC's 100 failures, 1 unicorn model.

[kunley]

Hmm, mediocrity can put a food on a table for already established corporation, but for a startup is not enough, is rather just a nail in the coffin.