Founders at SaaStr Annual 2026 discuss what actually happens when plans fail: setbacks teach you more than wins do, and success just raises the bar higher. They stress that passion for what you're building matters, and that leadership means having the courage to disagree.
Chapters
Where the rubber hits the road is when things don't go as planned and you have to figure it out. Most of the time it's not what you thought it was gonna be.
It's those hard moments when you do want to throw in the towel where you make the decision to go forward and that is a step toward your success.
I think every leader goes through that whether they're willing to say it or not.
The startup journey is really tough and you need grit to survive all the crazy ups and downs.
Things go well and things go poorly and things go well and— There have been So many failures all along the way, but they all just become inputs to the right decisions. People think their happiness is around the corner when they achieve a certain outcome, but if you do achieve that, you will just set a new goal for yourself that's an even harder goal.
Don't make the mistake of working on something you're not super passionate about.
When you understand what your purpose is and you understand what brings you joy, there is no finish line. What am I missing? Why are we not growing faster? The danger is I'm never satisfied.
You get there and you realize, like, I'm like, there's so much more to go. How do I keep growing?
How do we get bigger, better, faster, stronger?
I want to do it all. I can't do it all.
Being an ally is not always like marches and banners. A lot of time it's disagreeing and standing up for what you believe in no matter what everyone else says. That's hard. It takes a lot of courage. It takes a lot of grit. The toughness about that journey was just sticking to it.
The most successful companies are the ones that don't wait to see how the market's gonna change, right? The world's changing fast, and so if you're not constantly thinking about the nuances of the market you're serving and how their needs are changing, you're gonna be left behind.
