Why "Passion" is a Dangerous Metric for Founders

There is a myth that permeates the startup ecosystem: that passion is the fuel that will carry you through the dark valley of death. Investors ask about it, co-founders bond over it, and we measure our own worthiness by the intensity of our feelings.

But having built three companies over the last decade, I have come to a different conclusion. Passion is a match. It burns bright, it starts the fire, but it burns out quickly. Discipline is the log that keeps the fire burning through the cold night.

The Passion Trap

When you optimize for passion, you make decisions based on what feels exciting in the moment. You build features because they are cool, not because they solve a painful problem. You hire people who vibe with you, not necessarily those who challenge you.

• Passion fluctuates with your mood.
• Passion is fragile in the face of rejection.
• Passion can blind you to market reality.

Real work is boring. It is answering support tickets at 11 PM. It is fixing the same bug for the third time. It is cold emailing 100 prospects and getting 99 rejections. Passion doesn't help you there. Habit does. System does. Duty does.

"Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work." — Stephen King

Build a System for The Bad Days

If you only work when you feel passionate, you will lose to the person who works every single day regardless of how they feel. This is the core of "Anti-fantasy" entrepreneurship.