We were unwilling to admit defeat, which kept us focused on solving problems rather than contemplating shutting down the company.

During the pandemic, we faced significant challenges, but we emerged stronger. We learned to focus on efficiency and maintain a startup mentality, which helped us navigate the crisis successfully.

In March 2022, we faced a significant challenge when capital markets fell, and we had to create as much efficiency as possible to survive against competitors with much more cash.

We realized we weren't solving our users' problems anymore, which led us to halt all operations for nine months to reimagine our product and company.

We got caught in the mindset of being just a platform company, which limited our ability to innovate and adapt to new market demands.

We had to build financial controls and go through audits to secure capital, which was critical for our survival against competitors with substantial cash reserves.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we had to pivot quickly. Instead of laying off our team as advised, we chose to be transparent and asked everyone to take pay cuts to weather the storm together, which ultimately helped us find our product-market fit.

I had to make tough decisions during a crisis, including shrinking the team and raising funds, which ultimately extended our runway and allowed us to launch successfully despite market challenges.

In the early days, we were always scared of not getting it right and being out-executed by competitors, which drove us to focus hard on our early customers and their needs.