There is an African proverb that I’ve been hearing a lot in recent times:

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Since leaving the corporate world in 2014, I have gone fast and I’ve gone far. Going is overrated. Since the beginning 2020, I haven’t been doing too much going, period. The risks of meeting people in person has created a necessary discernment.

If you want to build something, you need a community.

It is no longer simply about Metcalfe’s Law. It’s about the quality of the connections more than the number of users. Alignment, value, trust, authenticity, empathy, listening, relationships, and talent stacks need to be built. These take time. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.