Growing up, I started noticing a difference in how people respond to problems. Some spend a lot of time complaining. Others begin trying to figure out what they can do about it.

I recognise that second impulse in myself. I think of it as a sense of agency. You believe that what you do can change something about a situation.

Sometimes you have a few skills, an idea, and almost nothing else. You’re exhausted and your mind is still asking, What else can I try? Sometimes the answer is to start from scratch.

Some of that optimism comes from curiosity. When I’m out of my depth, I want to understand more. I might not know how to solve the problem yet, but I’m willing to learn things outside my comfort zone to give myself a chance.

I think being a founder takes a bit of delusion too. You look at a problem people with more resources have struggled with and think, Somehow, I can figure this out.

Your ambition gets ahead of your evidence. You commit before you know how every part will work.

Then you spend weeks on something that falls apart, and the problem you just solved gives you two more. You have to live with that for longer than you thought you would. And sometimes the thing you’ve been trying hardest to make work is the thing you need to change.

I complain too. What interests me is what happens afterwards.