2 days ago
- Zeke Gabrielse has been working on Keygen for nearly nine years, experiencing slow, linear growth rather than rapid startup success.
- He feels stuck in a cycle of 'unicorn dreams' — wanting faster growth and a bigger payoff — but recognizes Keygen is a 'space elevator,' not a 'rocket ship.'
- After paternity leave, he realized the business runs on autopilot, leaving him bored and guilty, questioning his purpose and self-worth tied to the business.
- He dislikes sales and ads, preferring to write code and help engineers, which has led to organic growth of ~50% year over year.
- He considers selling but finds the multiples too low; instead, he contemplates raising capital to grow the team and accelerate growth, embracing a new challenge.