Co-Founders William and Vineet Reflect on Year 1 of Forte

525,600 minutes … (“Seasons of Love” Song). The iconic song from the Broadway Musical Rent beckons us to ask the question … “How do you measure; how do you measure a year?”

‍

It is as crazy to write as it is to say out loud. Today is the one year anniversary of the Forte journey. When we started this journey, as is often the case, we were two people standing in front of a whiteboard with nothing more than an idea and a focus of helping people fully experience life.

‍

Then, we looked at each other and both asked the same questions – are you ready?  Committed? Excited? Scared? … then for us as married men, the next question – is your family ready?

‍

One of the scariest “Yes’s” of our lives has now led us on an incredible journey. Ups, downs, lefts, rights, crooked paths and straight ones. So many people have been an encouragement on this journey, but we would love to specifically thank four groups:

‍

1. Our customers – Thank you for taking a bet on us with your most valuable asset, your people. We will endeavor to continue to journey alongside them with the utmost care.
2. Our investors – We would not exist without you. Thank you for taking a chance on an unlikely crew and giving us the embers to start this fire.
3. Our teammates – Jon, Meg, Bekah, Sandhia, Kaylee – you have entrusted us with your scarce labor capital, we will endeavor to steward it well. Thank you for your effort, your joyfulness and your grace.
4. Our guides – you have given us and our users your patience, your empathy and your loving ears – words cannot express the change you have made in people’s lives.

Over the past year, we have learned countless lessons, but arguably the biggest one is from Seth Godin:

“All forward motion disappoints someone.

If you serve one audience, you’ve let another down. One focus means that something else got ignored. If you create something scarce, someone won’t get their hands on it.

The very act of creation means that it won’t be the ideal solution for everyone.

On the other hand, with certainty, we know that doing nothing disappoints an even larger group of people.

The opportunity is to find someone to delight and to embrace the fact that someone is not everyone.”

‍

Learning that we are not the right solution for everyone we meet was at first disheartening, but now it is invigorating. It has created a new journey where we are constantly looking for those exact people that will be overjoyed by our product. 

‍

We love everyone else, but they don’t know they need and want us … yet. 😉 

‍

Jonathan Larson, the writer of Rent, also wrote a song called Louder than Words for a biographical musical where he asks “Cages or wings, which do you prefer? Ask the Birds …”

‍

In this next year, we promise to choose wings; we will choose any decision we think will better serve our current and future customers, investors, teammates and guides well. 

Grateful,

Vineet and William

‍