We make too many compromises

Gero Embser

We make too many compromises


A compromise is an agreement or settlement in which two or more parties each give up some of what they want in order to reach a solution that is acceptable to everyone involved. In other words, it’s a middle ground between different positions or desires — nobody gets everything they wanted, but everyone gets enough to move forward.

This is how ChatGPT defines a compromise.

If you start a startup, you have to solve plenty of problems – as you do anywhere in life. Different people have different needs and opinions, too.

But I was thinking: I wouldn’t compromise with my co-founder. It’s technically impossible. At first glance, this sounds like a pretty stupid idea. However, setting up a start-up means you’re consciously agreeing to make it a success, so all your personal needs (for status, power or money) are secondary. While it’s great if you can fulfil these needs, doing a startup means being willing to defer their fulfilment. The ultimate goal is to make the startup a success, and the most important thing for achieving this goal is to do what’s best for the company. Therefore, there’s no need to compromise on personal preferences. If you disagree on how to solve a particular problem, you talk until you find a solution that you both agree on. Often, you’ll realise that neither of you knows what’s best, so you’ll flip a coin to decide.

I think the same is true of politics and many other areas of life. We’ve been taught so much about the importance of getting our needs fulfilled. All too often, we are taught not to agree on a higher goal because those higher goals are fraudulent, diminish fairness, or lead to abuse by the other party. In fact, I would argue that this higher goal is of much greater value and is one of the last opportunities for arbitrage nowadays. The usual narrative is that compromise is fair, so if you don’t compromise, you’re not fair and you’re an asshole.

Fortunately, my co-founder and I have not needed to make any compromises so far. I do think it’s a bad idea to make compromises in an early-stage startup’s internal workings, but of course it’s also a stupid idea not to make compromises with the outside world, because otherwise your startup will die.