Why Does Persistence Matter More Than Timing for a Startup?

Will Marshall says timing and a strong idea matter for a startup, and persistence matters more. Planet's team has stayed on a mission it sees as important for security, sustainability, and AI, including after investors said the plan was impossible because no one had launched that many satellites. That grit, and the aim of putting the tools to a useful purpose, is what he says keeps the company going.

The staff record is the evidence he offers. On the 10th anniversary, seven of the first ten employees were still at Planet. At the 15th anniversary, about half of those first ten were still there. They could work elsewhere, he says, and they stay because the mission is worth it and the work is satellites. Molly O'Shea asked for the lesson from those years of building the company, launching more spacecraft, and going public. The answer he gave was endurance. It is a founder's account of how the company was built, not a comment on the shares.