Here’s one of the most important lessons you’ll find in the podcast episode I published earlier this week: 
 

“There’s no point in comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle.” 

Understanding your context and making the most of your choices, day by day, is a lot more valuable. 

Seeking validation by comparing yourself to others is a losing strategy. 

Instead of freezing like a deer caught in the headlights of someone else’s (apparent) success, you can choose to build your own version and embrace its every aspect. 

I’m thankful that Julian and Marin make such a strong statement about this. I needed the reminder because I slip into comparisons myself and I do it more often than I’m comfortable admitting. 

Seeking to learn from the best, I’m constantly exposed to great work, great ideas and some of the smartest and most skilled people in the industry. When I look at where they are now, it’s easy to forget the years of consistent work that took to get them here.  

Fortunately, these awesome people are also open about things like dealing with imposter syndrome and the challenges they still face. Their vulnerability and authenticity encourage others to keep to their path and push through their fear. 

Julian and Marin are inspiring examples of grounded, honest guys who share the trials and tribulations of building a startup with everyone who wants to learn alongside them. 

They’re two Bulgarians who’ve been living in Amsterdam for 10 years. One of them is a freelancer, the other one has a full-time job and together they co-founded DULO with the mission of creating dress shirts made out of performance fabric that makes life easier for their customers. 

Marin and Julian have been documenting their work and experiments since day one, getting progressively better at creating their product, talking to their customers, and making decisions to build their business. 

In the podcast, we talked about the choices they made along the way, both for DULO and their lives, since they pour so much of themselves into their startup. 

I noticed they frequently talk about a few key aspects that guide their decisions: 

• Independence in both thought and action, which means they spend more time creating than consuming (Julian has a great take on this)
• A focus on shipping that helps them avoid ego clashes and unconstructive arguments (Marin has a great way of simplifying complex situations)
• The ability to see failure as experimentation and not as a life-defining catastrophe, which opens up more opportunities for growth. 

This friendly conversation includes a lot more practical ideas that I hope you’ll unpack as you listen to Julian and Marin’s sincere and bullshit-free accounts. 

It’s really refreshing to connect with people who do the work and explain their process so openly, without sugarcoating and embellishing it in any way. There’s enough of that on social media and we’ve all seen what it can do. 

Before wrapping up, I want to leave you with a fragment from Michelle Obama’s book - “Becoming” - which I finished just 2 days ago. It aligns with what I’m currently reading and focusing on and I cannot recommend it enough. 

Make your voice heard this weekend, 
Andra