Thank YOU so much for participating in this series, Casey. The learnings you shared are already helping other builders. And as much as I love hearing that the process sharpened your thinking - it was sharp to begin with. Thank you! 🤗
I didn’t expect to feel calmer after reading a post about stopping. But I do. Presence is a constraint, not a weakness. The older I get the more I believe im this. Great work Casey and Karo, thank you.
Very resonated with this. I recently started joining some accelerator networks, and they’ve been amazing. Talking with others helps validate ideas, but more importantly, you realize how many people are circling the same questions. The conversations quietly sharpen your judgment.
This is a brilliant interview. Karo, thank you for highlighting the work of Casey and for curating his words with such kindness and care. Casey, I'm now subscribed to your work. Thank you for building with such great humility and openness, and for teaching us why it's really important to know exactly when to push and how that depends on our life situation as well. I really appreciate this.
Karo, this is such a great idea. And I really love the reflection of letting meaning emerge from the builders themselves. What a valuable initiative. Obsessed!
Thank you so much Casey and Karo for sharing this! The summary lessons are just wow!! I can very much relate to the fact Casey you mention here
-------------
- a marketplace MVP is maybe 10% of the work.
- the other 90% is activation: convincing real humans to show up and list things.
--------------
I used to run a Himalayan Travel Community in 2011-2014 where those old phpBB/BuddyPress forums used to be common. Those days we had a similar dedicated section in the community for people to rent out their gears and make some extra cash when not using them especially in the biker community riding bikes to trans-Himalayan region.. The "activation" part you highlighted here was the killer... it was so damn tough to convince and have people show up and utilize the great forum/group for their own help.. still after running 3-4 years I had to shut it down because it was draining life.. So when I ready that part, it just made me 12 yr younger self :D
Thanks for your kind words, Dheeraj. Ever since building this, I can’t help but see opportunities for marketplaces/P2P platforms everywhere. It’s like a lightbulb I can’t switch off—I wonder, have you experienced a similar perspective shift since your work too?
Ha Ha, that happens when we see one opportunity, test it out, we start seeing it many place.. I had shut the community down later in 2015 as I moved to US and later completely focused on providing the invlauable-updated information of the region only, something I had control over.. but I did see other Startups late in 2017-18 then around the same concepts with mobile apps. I believe the struggle for them was same - getting users to onboard and create listings.
Ooo, that’s another fascinating story. Thank you for sharing it, Dheeraj. This is exactly how we help other builders save time and a lot of headaches. I look forward to featuring you in this series! 🤗
I am really looking forward to be part of it Karo, it is super exciting stuff for me. And yes, my old blogging and Himalayan adventure days were super exciting of. building, scaling, failing, coping, greiving, making come backs but all content and philanthropy focused with minor detours :)
What an intriguing exploration of ambition and presence! It’s fascinating to think about how both artificial systems and biological brains navigate spatial memories similarly, as discussed in my recent piece about how machines develop object-location binding—essentially, they’re crafting their own mental maps too. You might find it interesting to read more about this concept here: https://00meai.substack.com/p/machines-learn-to-remember-where.
Thanks for this, Casey. Not all journeys are the same. Most are a grind, and we don't always get what we want on our own timeline. Honesty is priceless, and it’s important to know that persistence pays off, even if you have to take one step forward and two steps back sometimes. This is a marathon, not a sprint. And most importantly: congratulations on the twins on the way!
Appreciate your kind words, Marcela. You’re right: whenever you zoom out, those two steps back look insignificant in comparison to the bigger picture. Thank you also on the congratulations—we couldn’t be more excited!
Interesting timing of this as I decided yesterday to pause my projects for a few months. When life gets in the way, it’s too easy to spread yourself too thin and forget about being present.
I’m studying for a new type rating and realized that I needed to give that my full attention before I build anything else.
Thanks for sharing your journey with this too, Richard. It’s important to know when too much is too much, especially when each of the projects or areas of your life are exciting and feel that they deserve attention.
Once you’ve spent months on a project, it can be hard to walk away. But saying no can also free you up for future opportunities better suited to who and where you are.
Casey, thank you for sharing your story—I completely relate to it since I’ve shut down projects myself!
Karo, as always, thank you for this excellent series!
Thank you for sharing your story, Casey. I have a friend who suffers from fatigue syndrome, so I’m acutely aware that even talking about it is often met with an extra layer of skepticism; let alone doing so in public.
This series is rapidly becoming the highlight of my weekly reading schedule. The narrative construction and delivery are executed with such precision that I am, frankly, impressed.
Love hearing about what a fellow Kiwi is up to! This is such a great interview and I love the concept of GearShare and the lessons learned here. This is such a great series, Karo!
Thanks Chris. If the space is still a greenfield in a year or two, I might pick it back up. But to be honest, I’ve become disenchanted with the venture model since stepping away from the idea… and building a marketplace without investor’s jet fuel is daunting!
Huge thanks to you, Karo. Preparing this for your series sharpened my own thinking more than I expected.
Your honesty around knowing when to stop is such an important counterweight to the default “just push harder” narrative we give builders.
Thank YOU so much for participating in this series, Casey. The learnings you shared are already helping other builders. And as much as I love hearing that the process sharpened your thinking - it was sharp to begin with. Thank you! 🤗
I didn’t expect to feel calmer after reading a post about stopping. But I do. Presence is a constraint, not a weakness. The older I get the more I believe im this. Great work Casey and Karo, thank you.
Thank you so much for reading Writers Love 🤗
I really feel for you, man. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t bike, I’d go mad. Really appreciated this read.
Thank you for reading Cardio Mike 🤗
Very resonated with this. I recently started joining some accelerator networks, and they’ve been amazing. Talking with others helps validate ideas, but more importantly, you realize how many people are circling the same questions. The conversations quietly sharpen your judgment.
That’s such a good way to put it. And they calibrate our thinking without anyone trying to “teach” us. Thank you so much for reading Xian 🤗
This is a brilliant interview. Karo, thank you for highlighting the work of Casey and for curating his words with such kindness and care. Casey, I'm now subscribed to your work. Thank you for building with such great humility and openness, and for teaching us why it's really important to know exactly when to push and how that depends on our life situation as well. I really appreciate this.
I love your comment and that you subscribed to Casey! Thank you so much for reading Sam, it means a lot 🤗
That's it. I have so many ideas, but I *know* I don’t have the time to bring them all to life.
I can relate 😂 Thank you for reading Clari!
Karo, this is such a great idea. And I really love the reflection of letting meaning emerge from the builders themselves. What a valuable initiative. Obsessed!
Thank you Chief Absurdist Officer! I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment 🤗
Nice read! Thank you, Karo, for the shoutout.
Of course! My pleasure 🤗
Thank you so much Casey and Karo for sharing this! The summary lessons are just wow!! I can very much relate to the fact Casey you mention here
-------------
- a marketplace MVP is maybe 10% of the work.
- the other 90% is activation: convincing real humans to show up and list things.
--------------
I used to run a Himalayan Travel Community in 2011-2014 where those old phpBB/BuddyPress forums used to be common. Those days we had a similar dedicated section in the community for people to rent out their gears and make some extra cash when not using them especially in the biker community riding bikes to trans-Himalayan region.. The "activation" part you highlighted here was the killer... it was so damn tough to convince and have people show up and utilize the great forum/group for their own help.. still after running 3-4 years I had to shut it down because it was draining life.. So when I ready that part, it just made me 12 yr younger self :D
Thanks for your kind words, Dheeraj. Ever since building this, I can’t help but see opportunities for marketplaces/P2P platforms everywhere. It’s like a lightbulb I can’t switch off—I wonder, have you experienced a similar perspective shift since your work too?
Ha Ha, that happens when we see one opportunity, test it out, we start seeing it many place.. I had shut the community down later in 2015 as I moved to US and later completely focused on providing the invlauable-updated information of the region only, something I had control over.. but I did see other Startups late in 2017-18 then around the same concepts with mobile apps. I believe the struggle for them was same - getting users to onboard and create listings.
Ooo, that’s another fascinating story. Thank you for sharing it, Dheeraj. This is exactly how we help other builders save time and a lot of headaches. I look forward to featuring you in this series! 🤗
I am really looking forward to be part of it Karo, it is super exciting stuff for me. And yes, my old blogging and Himalayan adventure days were super exciting of. building, scaling, failing, coping, greiving, making come backs but all content and philanthropy focused with minor detours :)
What an intriguing exploration of ambition and presence! It’s fascinating to think about how both artificial systems and biological brains navigate spatial memories similarly, as discussed in my recent piece about how machines develop object-location binding—essentially, they’re crafting their own mental maps too. You might find it interesting to read more about this concept here: https://00meai.substack.com/p/machines-learn-to-remember-where.
That’s a thoughtful link to make. We'll definitely read your article. Thank you for sharing and for reading!
Thanks for this, Casey. Not all journeys are the same. Most are a grind, and we don't always get what we want on our own timeline. Honesty is priceless, and it’s important to know that persistence pays off, even if you have to take one step forward and two steps back sometimes. This is a marathon, not a sprint. And most importantly: congratulations on the twins on the way!
Thank you for this Marcela! This is exactly the kind of comment that makes these spaces feel supportive! 🤗
Thanks to you Karo! For create this space for us
Appreciate your kind words, Marcela. You’re right: whenever you zoom out, those two steps back look insignificant in comparison to the bigger picture. Thank you also on the congratulations—we couldn’t be more excited!
Interesting timing of this as I decided yesterday to pause my projects for a few months. When life gets in the way, it’s too easy to spread yourself too thin and forget about being present.
I’m studying for a new type rating and realized that I needed to give that my full attention before I build anything else.
Great article, nice job Karo and Casey!
That’s a big decision, and a very intentional one. Curious what type of rating you mean? Thanks so much for reading and for the kind words Richard 🤗
Switching from Boeing to the Airbus next month so lots of studying
Thanks for sharing your journey with this too, Richard. It’s important to know when too much is too much, especially when each of the projects or areas of your life are exciting and feel that they deserve attention.
Once you’ve spent months on a project, it can be hard to walk away. But saying no can also free you up for future opportunities better suited to who and where you are.
Casey, thank you for sharing your story—I completely relate to it since I’ve shut down projects myself!
Karo, as always, thank you for this excellent series!
Thank you for reading Karen! Actually that's a good point, I'll add a link to your post where you describe shutting down StackDigest!
Thank you! 🤗
Thank you for sharing your story, Casey. I have a friend who suffers from fatigue syndrome, so I’m acutely aware that even talking about it is often met with an extra layer of skepticism; let alone doing so in public.
This series is rapidly becoming the highlight of my weekly reading schedule. The narrative construction and delivery are executed with such precision that I am, frankly, impressed.
Thank you so much for reading Ela 🤗
Love hearing about what a fellow Kiwi is up to! This is such a great interview and I love the concept of GearShare and the lessons learned here. This is such a great series, Karo!
Thank you so much Dallas, I really appreciate you reading and commenting!
Thanks for sharing both a moving personal story and a builders journey Karo. Wishing you the best build Casey !
Thanks Chris. If the space is still a greenfield in a year or two, I might pick it back up. But to be honest, I’ve become disenchanted with the venture model since stepping away from the idea… and building a marketplace without investor’s jet fuel is daunting!