Why Founders Don't Ask

Why would smart founders not know? Because the question makes no sense at the start. A brand new startup is obviously default dead: no revenue, pure burn. Asking would be silly, so founders form the habit of not asking.

The problem is the question quietly changes from meaningless to critical, and nobody sends a notification. Somewhere in your first year or two, your revenue trajectory becomes real data, and the calculation becomes both possible and mandatory.

PG's fix is to start asking too early rather than too late. Asking early costs you nothing but a little worry. Asking late can mean learning the true answer at the moment it's no longer fixable.