What Progress Looks Like

The most challenging aspect of building a startup so far has been getting used to a new model of progress.

As a doctor, progress is mapped out in front of you like climbing stairs - straightforward and consistent every step of the way.?

As an innovator, progress feels more like going around in circles. Our ideas evolve with every new insight from speaking with potential users, reading research papers, or spotting gaps in the market. Often, we find ourselves back at the same conclusion we arrived at weeks ago, struggling to remember why we moved on and left feeling ridiculous.?

This is especially true in the early stages of building a startup, when we can feel lost in the endless phase of discovery: identifying the problems, the people who feel them strongest, and the opportunities to solve them. The more we learn, the more we validate and invalidate the paths we consider taking.?

Every path has its pros and cons, so we end up cycling between reasons ‘for’ and ‘against’ pursuing it. This feels like going in circles. When, in fact, progress looks more like a spiral.

It’s difficult to see the progress we’re making when we think we’ve arrived back at the same spot. However, every time we revisit a familiar idea, we have more validation for being there.

To embrace this spiral model of progress, I’ve had to embrace a mindset of refinement. An incremental process of finding clarity with every spin around the circle.?

What the diagram above doesn’t quite capture is that, with every spin, the spiral becomes tighter and tighter - narrowing in on one clear path with the weight of our head-spinning experiences behind us.

One strategy to hold onto the progress we make is to create a Progress Log, keeping track of every valuable insight we learn. For example, a user interview could reveal that patients may be more likely to download an app recommended by their doctor. Storing that insight in your Progress Log gives you a single source of truth to return to when you’re months deep into user research.

The spiral model of progress also holds true in life beyond startups. We often expect to make linear progress in achieving our goals, but end up making the same mistakes again and again. Instead, what if we view our ‘setbacks’ as part of our journey spiralling upwards?

"We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps." - Hermann Hesse in Siddhartha