Insight certainty 4/5 debate potential 3/5

Levine: Founders should only quit if the problem vanishes or board breaks

Uri Levine · A founder’s guide to crisis management | Uri Levine (Waze co-founder, serial entrepreneur) · Feb 16, 2025 · at 40:54

Uri Levine, co-founder of Waze, outlines the only two legitimate conditions under which a startup founder should consider shutting down.

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“There are only two reasons that you would like to give up. One is that your mission is wrong, right? So, so the problem disappears. And if the problem disappears, your mission is no longer relevant or no longer valid, then you might want to consider to give. The other one is that if the team is not right, then you are unable to change it. So you brought toxic investors into the board, and they and they start to control the company, and obviously, in many cases, they create more damage than help, and you are unable to change that anymore, then this is a good reason to give up. Other than that, never give up.”

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