The High-Wire Act of Building (and Unbuilding) Startups
Published:
Originally published on Substack.
Background
For over 20 years, I’ve worked across the full robotics stack — from hands-on service engineering at Staubli and Frimo, to founding multiple ventures spanning IoT, industrial automation, SaaS, AIGC, and open networking platforms, then joining an embodied AI startup. My failures and exits reflect a breadth of ambition, technical skill, and real-world constraints.
WHAT I BUILT: CHECK → Every Yǒng product
Chapter 1: The All-In Mindset
“Every morning, the first thought isn’t excitement — it’s whether cash flow will last another month.”
As a founder, I wore every hat — CEO, engineer, salesperson, support, and admin — often at once. The early years demanded grit, self-reliance, and an unshakable belief in the mission. This relentless drive is often celebrated in startup lore, but it also conceals the fragile underpinnings of early-stage companies: unpredictable cash flow, lean operations, and the burden of being everything to everyone.
Lesson: The all-in mindset fuels progress, but leaves no safety net. Know when to pace yourself, build resilience — or risk burnout.
Chapter 2: Innovation, Not Just Iteration
“Five years ago I shipped a complete AI-IoT product: custom PCB, cloud AI platform, native iOS/Android apps, Go-based desktop client — deployable in 5 minutes. Even now, the architecture remains competitive. Yet, it died under the weight of the pandemic.”
My track record shows I’m not just an engineer or a manager — I’m a systems thinker. I built full-stack solutions that few dare to attempt. But execution can be undone by forces outside my control: macroeconomics, global disruption, or timing.
Lesson: Build for scale, but brace for disruption. If you don’t design for resilience — in business model, cash runway, and decision cycles — even groundbreaking innovation can fade.
Chapter 3: Transitioning Roles — From Founder to Employee, From Creator to Contributor
“Now I work as a contributor, not a leader. I bring resources to a team, help make the right decisions — but I no longer bear all the weight.”
This transition is rarely discussed in classrooms: the pivot from architect-of-all to specialist contributor. Yet it’s critical. Once you step away from the driver’s seat, your role changes — but your value doesn’t. A former founder can offer hard-earned judgment, systems insight, and a bias toward building from scratch.
Lesson: Entrepreneurship isn’t one-way. The skills you build scale beyond startups. In many cases, you will do more long-term good by contributing than by steering.
Chapter 4: What Founders Often Don’t Say — The Emotional Toll
“Social media shows success. Behind the scenes: sleepless nights, personal sacrifices, constant uncertainty.”
The romantic image of the founder overlooks the emotional and psychological burden: constant stress, unpredictable failure, and personal loss. For every success story, there are dozens of burned-out founders, shattered relationships, and lost health.
Lesson: Mental resilience and self-care are as important as product-market fit. Build regimes — for sleep, health, reflection — just as you build roadmaps and feature backlogs.
Chapter 5: The Real Value — Not Just in “What” You Build, But “How” You Think
My journey teaches a critical insight: the greatest asset a founder or product manager brings to any organization is not exposure to a specific tool or stack — it’s the logic of evaluating whether to build or buy, when to scale, when to pause, and when to pivot. That decision-making framework outlasts any single tool.
“We must think in hardware, software, AI, and market needs — all at once.”
Lesson: In embodied AI or complex systems, the intangible skill of cross-disciplinary synthesis is often more valuable than the flashiest feature. Hire for systems thinkers. Build for future shifts.
Conclusion — Why This Story Matters
My experience embodies both what it takes to build deep-tech ventures, and the harsh realities that often accompany them. For students of entrepreneurship:
This is not just a cautionary tale — it’s a blueprint for sustainable ambition.
The lessons here apply broadly: from robotics to biotech, from SaaS to social platforms.
The real legacy isn’t a successful exit — it’s the wisdom to know when to build, when to close, and when to evolve.
In end, the most important outcome of any startup isn’t just its product — it’s the founder’s growth. And that growth, wisely stewarded, becomes the foundation for every future success.