As we step into June, I wanted to take a pause from frameworks, strategies, templates, and reflect on something more personal: The Journey. This month, I’m dedicating my writing to the human side of building, what it really feels like to be a Startup founder navigating ambiguity, doubt, small wins, and quiet resilience. Through four weekly articles, I’ll be sharing stories and reflections from my own path and those around me, including the early days of OpenSource DB. If May was about Markets and GTM playbooks, June is about the founder behind the roadmap. The uncertainty, the pivots, the clarity that only comes in hindsight.
Welcome to #JuneJourney.
Navigating Uncertainty as a Startup Founder
Every founder signs up for uncertainty, some knowingly, some blissfully unaware. We all begin with a hunch, a conviction, maybe a blurry vision of the future. What we don’t always realize is that ambiguity isn’t a phase. It’s the default mode of building something new.
No Roadmap, Just Belief
When Hari Kiran started OpenSource DB four years ago, it wasn’t with a grand roadmap or perfect market clarity. It began with a belief:
Open source databases, especially #PostgreSQL, deserve better #advocacy, #community, and #commercial #support in #India and beyond.
But belief alone doesn’t give you direction. In those early days, there were hard questions:
- Are we solving a real, urgent problem?
- Will customers pay for this kind of expertise?
- How do we build a company around something this niche?
- Much of the journey felt like walking through fog.
And yet, one of Hari’s core insights from that time, something I’ve heard him say often, remains etched in my mind:
“Clarity doesn’t precede action—it follows it. And action, more often than not, begins with conviction.”
Moving forward without all the answers
Instead of waiting for certainty, OpenSource DB chose motion over hesitation:
- We launched consulting offerings even before he had a full-fledged team.
- We leaned into the PostgreSQL community, co-creating events like PGConf India, Hyderabad PUG, and Postgres Women India to stay close to real users and real problems.
- We faced early rejections from potential clients, and mined those “no” conversations for insight, not just discouragement.
This wasn’t reckless speed. It was deliberate, step-by-step navigation, making decisions in the dark, but moving nonetheless.
Emotional oscillations & Quiet conviction
Building OpenSource DB wasn’t a straight line. There were revenue dips during the pandemic. Hiring was hard. Scaling cautiously meant wearing multiple hats. And every milestone unlocked a new kind of unknown.
Yet conviction carried forward:
- Building a human-first culture.
- Nurturing long-term client relationships.
- Staying true to the vision, even when the business case had to be constantly recalibrated.
- What kept it together? Listening. Learning. Taking one more step forward.
Lessons for every Founder
If you’re in the early days of your own venture—where things are unclear, messy, or fragile—know this:
- You don’t need to see the full path to take the next step.
- Uncertainty isn’t a sign you’re doing it wrong. It’s often proof you’re building something new.
- Progress doesn’t come from having all the answers, it comes from asking better questions and showing up, every day.
To Fellow Founders:
Whether you’re building a product, a team, or a movement—uncertainty will walk beside you. Make peace with it. Learn from it.
Because sometimes, clarity doesn’t come before the leap. It comes because you leapt.
This June, honor the journey. It’s not just yours, it’s every Founder’s.