Momentum ≠ Speed

Speed is visible.
Momentum is structural.
They behave differently — yet founders often merge them.

1. THE ACCELERATION BIAS

Founders operate inside an ecosystem that worships speed.
Fast movement feels like momentum.
Momentum feels like progress.
Progress feels like growth.
These assumptions create false confidence and hide costly misalignment.

2. HOW WE IDEALIZE GROWTH

3. THE ILLUSION OF LINEAR GROWTH

We imagine growth as straight trajectory, an upward climb.
This ideal shapes how founders see their ventures and themselves.
It also creates pressure to match a vision that rarely exists in reality.

4. WHAT GROWTH ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE

5. HOW REAL GROWTH UNFOLDS

Growth is dynamic, non-linear.
Curves and stalls indicate recalibration — not failure.
Organic growth patterns reveal the truth founders often ignore.
Growth does not obey speed.

6. HOW SPEED DISTORTS

Speed blurs focus, clouds judgment, and manufactures urgency.
Speed compels founders to scale without a solid revenue stream.
Speed alone tells you nothing about momentum.

7. THE FOUNDATIONS OF MOMENTUM

Momentum rests on overlooked foundations:
• founder execution
• defined brand
• clear segments
• validated product
• solid partners
The ship’s keel: unseen and essential.

8. HOW MOMENTUM WORKS

Momentum comes from intention and disciplined action.
It forms when decisions, systems, and people move with coherence.
Slow or fast, momentum reflects internal and operational alignment.

9. WHERE FOUNDERS LOSE MOMENTUM

Founder level
: Weak internal alignment → self-doubt → indecision
Venture level
: Undefined audience, foggy direction
, rushed scaling
What follows
: outer motion pushed without inner coherence.

10. MOMENTUM REASSESSED

Growth is the shape of progress over time.
Momentum is the force that moves the venture forward.
Momentum isn’t synonymous with speed
Speed is a surface signal that can distort both.
A venture gains momentum when its parts move in coherence.

11. A FOUNDER’S REFLECTION

Speed shows movement.
Momentum reflects internal alignment: founder and venture.
Before you push forward, ask:
 Am I chasing speed — or building momentum?
The answer sets the course.

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© My-Tien Vo – November 18, 2025