Blog•Apr 17, 2026
A Picnic of Shit Sandwiches
Tom, co‑founder of privacy‑infrastructure startup Ketch, reflects on being early in a market that only now values data privacy as a strategic asset. A recent Harvard Business Review piece cites a Journal of Marketing study showing privacy‑focused brands outperform peers, confirming the shift. Tom shares seven hard‑earned lessons—from interviewing thirty customers before building to hiring domain insiders and cutting staff decisively—highlighting how timing, product focus, and transparency determine success. The post underscores that solving the right problem at the wrong time can still cost founders dearly, even after fundraising.
