DeGrowth

Ah, success.

You created a lauded, long-running, moneymaking Product.

There was fame. The self-congratulatory champagne circuit.

The profiles. The congratulations. The smiling photos with people you detested.

Then, of course, a little…

Ugliness.

The upheaval. Jealousy. Recriminations. The clichéd founding-personnel exodus.

A little bloody mythology.

But—

That was years ago. Nobody remembers.

Even Google seems to have spiraled that phase into the algorithmic abyss.

Now?

There is money in the bank.

Personal debt? Gone.

Business debt? Eradicated years ago.

The office? This building? Hell, even in this commercial wasteland of a market, it has to be worth…

Wait.

What are you thinking?

Money? Debt? Selling the fucking building?

Just be blunt.

The dark-blue-Patagonia-vest bros would love this business.

Why?

The Product Prints Money.

That’s the pitch.

End o’ story.

The. Product. Prints. Money.

And isn’t that the problem?

It never failed. No spectacular market collapse. No dramatic ruin.

Nope.

A stable. Legible. Val-u-able Product.

And the problem with The Product?

It became a Product.

But, be even more blunt…

You haven’t given a fuck about craft, creativity, processes, or people for…

What?

Years?

Do you even care about The Product anymore?

Care.

Interesting little word, isn’t it?

You care about the revenue. You care about the margin. While all the while, the machine continues to hum along.

But the work? The actual work?

Nah.

Not really.

The Product has been shit for years.

And…

There it is.

The words nobody dares to say because…

It’s a fucking Lifestyle Brand now.

Soulless.

Efficient.

Profitable.

And so goddamn embarrassing.

And—

Maybe that is The Dream.

Maybe this is what people meant when they said you had made it.

But—

What if you were to, you know…

Tinker?

Prune.

Consolidate some departments.

Keep the dangerous people.

Automate the rest.

Oh, that’s interesting, yes?

Brutal, but true.

The Patagonia Bros would nod.

Oh, could you imagine the deck they could conjure back there in Boston?

Whew…

Operational discipline. Brand equity. Market durability. Streamlined creative execution.

Jesus Christ, what a bunch of blathering bullshittery.

So do it.

Sell it.

Or—

DeGrow.

Not in the hippy, boomer, save-the-environment screed way.

Not as some precious little founder memoir about choosing soul over scale.

Just—

Sanity. Soul.

Take things apart again.

Let the work be experimental again.

Let the dangerous people make a mess.

Burn shit down.

Blow shit up.

Careful…

You could sell The Business off.

Sure.

But we all know what happens then…

Patagonia Bros Gonna Do What Patagonia Bros Do.

And you know what?

Maybe this idea isn’t too crazy after all.

Maybe the business does not need a buyer.

Maybe it needs a founder again…

Yup.

Oh!

Do you feel that smile stretch your skin?

It’s been a long time, huh?