Whenever I tell people I’ve switched from running an e-commerce business to a software business, one question always follows: “Which one is more fun?”

It’s an entirely fair question, but it has a surprisingly simple answer: for me, the industry has never been the main event—it’s always been about the process of building. Whether I was working with physical inventory and logistics or lines of code and user interface design, the core excitement lies in creation.

I love the energy of ‘Day One’.

Picture that moment when you’re standing in a room and nothing exists yet. There’s an electric tension and limitless possibility. You’re sketching stick figures on a whiteboard, ideas are flying, connections are being made, and a complex problem slowly starts to reveal its structure and potential solutions.

That original, white-hot spark is the fuel that keeps me going. It’s the thrill of zero-to-one, where every decision has maximum impact and the path ahead is wide open.

The Scale-Up Shift and the Loss of Agility

In my earliest e-commerce days, that spark was everything. I was passionate about taking a simple idea—a hypothesis about what customers wanted—and transforming it into a tangible product that a customer could actually hold. That was magic; the feedback loop was immediate and intensely satisfying.

But as the business grew, the dynamic inevitably changed.

The ‘ship’ got heavier. We had to implement more and more layers of process, compliance, and checks. Driving meaningful change—introducing a new product line, optimising the supply chain, or updating the website—took longer and longer. The initial excitement began to fade as the repetitive rhythms of simply running the machine took over. The focus shifted from innovation to maintenance. I found myself spending more time managing complexity than creating value, and that’s when I knew a change was needed.

That whole experience taught me an invaluable lesson: I don’t just love building businesses; I love building in a way that always captures the feeling of ‘Day One’.

I’m drawn to the places where you’re solving problems that nobody else has tackled. Where speed is critical—where we can iterate and deploy changes in hours, not months. Where the imperative for change is so strong it feels like time is running out. That sense of urgency is crucial for staying ahead and ensuring continuous improvement.

Embracing the Mindset, Not the Reality

Of course, I know that when I talk about ‘Day One’, it’s not literally true. Our current operation is far from a small startup. When you’re processing over a billion dollars in revenue in 12 months, that is definitely not 'Day One' in real terms! We have a mature product, a skilled team, and sophisticated systems.

However, the ‘Day One’ mindset is all about refusing to become complacent. It’s about viewing every success not as a destination, but as a new, higher starting point. In terms of where my team and I are heading—the enormous, industry-defining problems we are tackling next—that mindset is absolutely essential. We treat our success as a foundation for a new beginning.

Because when we look back at today a year from now, I truly believe it will still look like the very beginning compared to the scale of what we will have accomplished. That perpetual drive is our competitive advantage.

That is what makes this current journey so immensely exciting. Every single milestone we achieve simply acts to reset the bar for what comes next. The work never feels finished, only ready for the next level of innovation, challenge, and growth.

Thanks for being on this incredible journey with me (twice!), David Kahn and Deric Chong. The process of building continues!