wait, did you guys ever try the opposite approach of just keeping margins healthy from day one and growing slower on purpose? i worked at a startup that did that and honestly it felt like we were the weird ones for not chasing the hype. we had like 60% gross margins from the start and grew maybe 20% a year, but we actually made money and never had to panic when funding dried up. it really makes you wonder how many of those "unicorns" could have been real businesses if they just focused on the math instead of the story. idk, maybe it's just me but i'd rather have something that works than a flashy pitch deck that falls apart.

That 2008 timeline explains a lot actually, I used to think people were just being picky.

Did your buddy have any idea how wrong he was going in with 3-in-1 or was he just grabbing whatever was in the garage? Seems like most people don't realize penetrating oils have solvents that evaporate and leave that sticky mess behind. Genuinely curious if he at least felt dumb after you had to scrub all that gunk out.

Heard this same thing from my buddy Rick when he tried smoking ribs for the first time. His dad took one bite and said "you didn't let the smoke settle" which meant his temp was all over the place. Took him three more tries to get it right, but that one sentence saved him months of guessing.

Honestly, that reminds me of something that happened to me at a laundromat like two years ago. This woman was folding her clothes and mumbling about how her dryer ate her favorite sock, and this guy just goes, "That sock's probably living its best life now, you know?" It was so stupid but we all laughed and it broke this tense quiet in the room. Sometimes a dumb joke or a weird line is all it takes to reset your whole brain. Ngl, I still think about that lost sock sometimes.