June 4, 2025
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min read

It's not a race

Han Wang
Co-founder

The best advice that’s kept me grounded as a founder?

It’s not about how fast you get there — it’s about whether you can get there at all.

Back in 2022, Hahnbee and I were deep in pivot hell.

We felt it in our bodies. In our minds. Everything felt heavy.

What made it worse?

Watching friends — who were in the same spot as us just six months earlier — suddenly raising big rounds, finding product-market fit, celebrating real traction.

It’s human nature to compare. To ask: why not us? why not yet?

At one of our lowest points, a founder of a multibillion-dollar company took the time to share his story.

He told us it took them five years to land their first customer.

Five years of wandering the desert — staying patient, persistent, and grounded in the belief they’d eventually make it.

That story stuck with me. Still does.

Mintlify was our eighth pivot.

Fourteen months of building with nothing to show for it — before things finally started to click.

These days, it’s easy to get lost in launch announcements, record MRR screenshots, and big funding rounds.

That’s what we see.

What we don’t see are the years behind the scenes — the ones that look like nothing’s happening.

You always need to zoom out, breathe, and remind yourself: It’s not a race.

It’s a bet on whether you’re willing to keep going.

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We want to encourage others by sharing our build in public journey, including the highs and lows. If it resonates, feel free to reach out or follow along on LinkedIn where I share updates as we build.