When I started my first project, I was so sure it would be a success. I had the idea, the vision, and the belief that if I just put in the work, everything would fall into place.

And for a while, it felt like it would. The excitement was high, and every small win fueled my motivation. I saw myself building something big. Until reality started knocking.

The audience wasn’t growing as fast as I expected. The product needed more refining than I had planned for. And most of all, I started seeing other entrepreneurs seemingly winning faster than I was. That’s when doubt creeped in.

“Did I choose the wrong thing?”
“Maybe I should pivot to something else.”
“Am I wasting my time?”

I didn’t know it then, but I was going through the six stages of the entrepreneurial journey.

1. Uninformed Optimism – The Dream Feels Real

This is where every founder starts. The excitement is high, the possibilities feel endless, and you believe you’re onto something big. You don’t yet see the obstacles ahead, so you charge forward with pure energy.

2. Informed Pessimism – The Wake-Up Call

Then, reality starts to sink in. The hype fades, and you begin to notice how much work it actually takes. Things don’t move as fast as you expected, and self-doubt starts creeping in. This is the stage where many start questioning if they made the right choice.

3. Crisis of Meaning – The Breaking Point

This is where most entrepreneurs give up. It’s the stage where nothing seems to be working. You feel drained, uncertain, and tempted to throw in the towel. I’ve been there—it’s not pretty.

But I also learned that if you can push through this stage, everything starts to shift.

4. Crash & Burn (Optional) – The Exit Door

Some don’t make it past the crisis of meaning. They quit, label the project a failure, and move on. What they don’t realize? The biggest breakthroughs happen just after this stage.

5. Informed Optimism – The Rebuild

If you stick around, things start making sense. You stop making beginner mistakes. You see patterns. You refine your approach. Suddenly, you’re not just moving—you’re moving smarter.

6. Achievement – The Payoff

This is where it all starts to come together. You’ve built something sustainable. You know what works. The struggles that felt overwhelming before? They now seem like necessary lessons.

The Importance of Staying Focused

There was a time I looked at other founders and felt behind. But I’ve come to realize success isn’t about jumping from one thing to another—it’s about committing to one thing and making it work.

Your first project may not be the one that blows up, but it will shape you. The skills you gain, the lessons you learn, and the resilience you build will carry into everything you do next.

For me, Kre8 Hub was my starting project. I wasn’t perfect at it, but it showed me gaps in my skills and pushed me towards something else I needed—public speaking. That’s how I started my podcast. I knew that even if my first business didn’t take off the way I envisioned, it was shaping me into someone who could tackle the next challenge better.

And that’s the real game. You don’t start at zero again. You start with knowledge.

Final Thought: Stay on the Ride

The hardest part of entrepreneurship isn’t starting—it’s pushing through the middle when things aren’t going as planned.

But here’s the thing: losing isn’t the same as being defeated. You only lose when you stop showing up. Stay in the game, adjust where necessary, and trust that every step is leading you somewhere greater.

Learning never stops.
Take a moment to reflect and act on what resonates with you.
Keep evolving.
– MJ Nyota