The thing that jumped out to me was how well the team managed their psychology. They state that after several pivots they were in the dumps and running out of money...yet their launch copy for Segment was peppy, optimistic and ambitious.
Peter, co-founder/CEO of Segment here... I'm not sure it felt that way in the moment. On December 11, 2012 we were in pretty bad emotional place. I was on the verge of quitting at several points during the prior month, and was hospitalized twice earlier that fall due to stress and anxiety during our search for product market fit.
Obviously, the Show HN on December 12, 2012 turned that around. But it still took us several months to realize we had a tiger by its tail and begin to recover psychologically.
So... for those of you searching for product market fit and not finding it yet, hang in there.
Thanks for sharing this, Peter! S11 represent. I think this sort of thing is tremendously encouraging to hear as everyone that's started a company has gone through phases like this. I know a few having that experience now!
