Orbit · Explore

Startups · by Noah Johansson · 2026-09-03

A surprisingly useful lesson from a family dinner from a trailhead

Context: I am not an expert, just someone trying to make Startups feel less intimidating. I wrote down what worked, what felt awkward, and what I would do differently next time

185 sparks · 27 comments

Comments

Thandi Mokoena · 99 likes

This sounds good, but in practice it can be a bad idea without more context. I would test it for 8 days before deciding

Ren Suzuki · 13 likes

honestly, great taste. The messy part is easy to underestimate

Sleepy Noodle · 32 likes

I think both things can be true

Aarav Sharma · 17 likes

I had the same reaction to messy

Ren Suzuki · 16 likes

That sounds great until you add children/pets/deadlines

Kabir Khan · 7 likes

helpful correction

Ren Suzuki · 2 likes

Same here. It took me too long to learn

Curious Lantern · 1 likes

Small caveat: context changes the answer a lot

Ren Suzuki · 11 likes

@curiouscodes11 Helpful correction

Silver Baker · 1 likes

That made the concept click

Maksym Bondar · 0 likes

That is the part people skip

Jasmine Cruz · 1 likes

my wallet felt that

Diego García · 6 likes

Same here. It took me too long to learn

Ren Suzuki · 1 likes

Thanks for making it less intimidating

Huy Le · 12 likes

What would you change if you started over? The Toronto example makes it feel concrete

Noah Johansson · 29 likes

could be regional too

Brave Comet · 12 likes

That is the part people skip

Liam Wilson · 4 likes

I would not call it wrong, just incomplete. I would write it down before changing anything else

Mango River · 3 likes

there is probably a middle ground here. A little friction removed goes a long way

Sophie Gagnon · 3 likes

Did anyone else read this and immediately make a tiny checklist? This is more useful on a tired lunch break then on a perfect day

Noé Petit · 2 likes

Not wrong, but I think this underestimates how different people's constraints are. For me it came down to the route

Camille Dubois · 3 likes

adding this to my notes

Martina Fernández · 1 likes

Totally agree, especially for beginners

Ren Suzuki · 2 likes

This made me smile more then expected. I would test it for 7 days before deciding

Brave Runner · 8 likes

Exactly; the hidden cost is energy

Ren Suzuki · 2 likes

excellent timing; I was just thinking about surprisingly. The social part surprised me too