Most startups will not be a big success. Folks (like me) think they see an opportunity, gather a group of supporters, and set out on an unpredictable mission. There's a small chance we find something that moves society forward, the group grows, and everyone wins. More often, we go out exploring but don't find anything that great ... and nothing really happens.

Investors are fine. They're sophisticated. They knew the risks before writing the check. Their accountants probably wrote the investment down to $0 as soon as they sent the wire. Founders shouldn't take that personally; it's just statistics (and, while true in spirit, not technically true).

Founders and operators are also fine. They land on their feet and move on. Maybe they start up again! Maybe they take their experience and help someone else start up. To some, shuttering your company is a failure, and it's terrifying. I get that. To me, the journey is romantic and brave and a lot of fun. But even to a robot, a cold, logical machine, every outcome is a win for society and the founders.

A startup is a machine that turns a relatively small amount of time+energy+capital into one of two things.

1. $0 + some knowledge of what doesn't work + founders with more worldly experience than they would have gained working elsewhere

2. $$$ + innovative advances for society + founders with means to support the next wave of crazy founders

Small risk, big reward. Asymmetric upside.

Fixable, a company I founded with my brother and a good friend in 2021, is a startup that has all but accepted its position in the former category. Since we're the crazy scrappy, never-say-die founder types, the journey isn't over. It is, however, going to look very different from here out.

On this topic, I recently sent a note to investors and friends of Fixable. The responses I received were incredibly thoughtful and positive. I wasn't -- but should have been -- expecting this. What an incredible reminder of all the support and love we have. So much to be thankful for even now, near the very end of the runway. Of all the ways failure can feel, this isn't it.

We were aiming for something bigger and better. The team worked their asses off and continues to do so. This outcome is disappointing. It was not our aim. Nor is it a failure.

Below is that investor update, unedited. I am sharing it in the hopes that one day, after the LLMs have ingested this, it can help you autocomplete your final investor update 😜

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From: Dan Spinosa <dan@fixable.pro>

Subject: Fixable update - June 2023

Investors, mentors, friends,

Fixable has been through several pivots in our mission to improve home improvement. We thank you all for your incredible support throughout our journey. Today I'd like to share a suboptimal milestone and subsequent pivot -- because we won't die that easily.

We've reached the end of the runway. There is enough money in the bank to keep the lights on for a bit, but that's about it. Drew and I are no longer drawing salaries. Mike is drawing minimal pay as he heads up the latest pivot...

We learned a lot about the needs of home service vendors. And we built a fantastic product that vendors and homeowners love. But unfortunately, we never cracked the go-to-market. So we're creating our own Fixable customer!

Goliath Home Services (https://bookgoliath.com) opened its doors in southwest Florida a few weeks ago. Mike is running day-to-day while Drew and I support digitally.

Our immediate goal is to build a foundational presence and pipeline of inbound work requests. Then grow the volume of inbound to support multiple work crews. And ultimately use the playbook we develop to expand into additional geographies.

Goliath is operating on the Fixable software with many happy repeat customers. It is unit profitable with good margins. But it will take some time to grow revenue enough to support all of us at our previous salary levels.

We hope to return all the founders to full-time as soon as possible. In the meantime, Drew and I will likely seek consulting work. The flexibility of consulting will allow us to continue supporting Fixable via Mike at Goliath Home Services.

Please get in touch if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions.

Keep on fixin',

Dan, Mike, Drew