Zhang: Founders quit prematurely because discernment improves faster than execution skill
Jesse Zhang · 20VC: Why 90% of Founders Build Startups Wrong | Why AI Growth Rates are Sustainable & Remote Work is BS and the AI Talent War | Competing with Brett Taylor and Sierra: Who Wins the Customer Service War with Jesse Zhang, Decagon · Sep 19, 2025 · at 7:27
Jesse Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Decagon, explains the psychological trap early-stage founders face when evaluating their own progress relative to market taste.
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“Generally when you try new things, where you learn new things, the rate at which you're able to discern good versus bad improves a lot faster than your actual skill level. A classic example of this is like if you're learning piano or something, right? Like the rate at which you can tell what is Good music versus bad playing is it can actually grow pretty quickly, but your own abilities will be a lot slower. And so what that leads to is generally people quitting early or just not seeing it through or just getting demoralized.”
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