Pick the Right Hill to Climb
A story about almost becoming a musician, and why your startup field matters more than you think.
I nearly became a musician.
Well, tried is probably the better word. I loved music. Obsessively. It felt like the right kind of dream. Creative. Exciting. Wide open. I even convinced myself I could make a career of it.
The problem was… I wasn’t very good.
And deep down, I knew it.
That didn’t stop me from pushing hard, trying to make it work. But no matter how many hours I put in, it never quite clicked. There was always someone better, sharper, more natural. Meanwhile, I was grinding just to be average.
Eventually, I let it go. It stung. But it also freed me up to be honest—with myself, with my skills, with what kind of work I was actually built for.
That was a turning point.
There’s a moment every founder hits
You get the itch to build something. Maybe you’re fed up with the way something works. Maybe you see an opportunity others missed. Maybe you're just curious.
And the dream starts forming.
Startup.
Freedom.
Build something that matters.
But before you start designing a product or registering a domain, there’s one step I wish more people took seriously:
Choosing the right field.
Not a cool idea.
Not a trendy industry.
But the actual space you’re going to live in, day after day, for the next 3, 5, maybe 10 years.
And not just “what’s hot right now,” either.
Here’s what I didn’t get back then
When I was forcing the music thing, I wasn’t asking a deeper question:
What am I actually good at?
Once I stepped away from music, I started noticing patterns. I was drawn to systems. I liked puzzles. I was comfortable in the messy parts of things. I wasn’t flashy—but I could stick with hard problems longer than most people.
That led me into tech. Not because it was trending. But because it matched how I thought. And once I found that fit, everything got a little easier.
That’s the part I see early founders skip all the time. They fall in love with the idea of entrepreneurship, but don’t stop to ask:
Is this a field I actually understand?
Is it a space I want to learn deeply?
Is there room here to build something new—or am I just late to the party?
The field matters more than people think
The best founders I know didn’t pick their industry at random. They found something that fit them. Their skills. Their mindset. Their timing.
They picked hills worth climbing.
Some got into AI before it was cool. Others into education, logistics, or hardware. Not because it was trendy—but because they could see things others couldn’t. And they were early enough to try.
That timing matters. If you’re too early, no one cares. Too late, and the window’s closed. But if you’re there just as the edges start to move? That’s where opportunity lives.
It’s okay to start small—but start smart
You don’t have to pick your “forever” field right now. But you do need to ask yourself if you’re choosing out of ego… or alignment.
If you’re building just to be seen, or to follow a trend—it shows. Eventually, the work gets hard enough that surface-level motivation won’t carry you.
But if you pick a space where your skills match the moment? Where you’re genuinely curious? That’s when things get interesting. That’s when you stop forcing it—and start building something real.
So yeah. I didn’t become a musician.
But I did find my space.
And once I stopped chasing someone else’s idea of success, I finally had room to build my own.
So if you're at the start of things—if you're dreaming about your startup life—start here:
Pick the right hill.
Then climb it your way.