The Founder's North Face - by Arsen - MVP on Steroids
MVP on Steroids
SubscribeSign in
The Founder's North Face<br>The North Face (brand) was named after the toughest route up the mountain. For founders, that route is the one we choose to build on
Arsen<br>Mar 25, 2025
Share
In 1921, a British expedition set out to summit Mount Everest for the first time. Approaching from the north through Tibet - because Nepal was closed to foreigners at the time - they unknowingly laid eyes on what would become one of the most feared routes in mountaineering: Everest’s North Face. They didn’t pick it because it was a smart strategic call or the easiest way up. It was simply the only way they had access to. Most of them dropped dead halfway through. Some of them made it to the summit. But their boldness carved a path into legend. Before them, the North Face wasn’t a thing. After them, it became the standard for “only the mad ones try this. ”<br>That’s where I find ourselves too while building amurex.ai. People love to say, “Sell first, then build,” or “Don’t take unnecessary risks,” or “Play it safe.” Play it safe? In a startup? That’s like showing up to Everest in flip-flops and saying, “I’m just here to try a little.” Startups are already statistically engineered to kill you. The odds are stacked. The ground beneath you is shifting. You’re burning cash, time, health, and possibly friendships. So why not go all in? Why not take the route that might actually change something?<br>Here’s the thing: the safest route is usually the most crowded, and by the time you get there, someone else has already planted their flag.<br>The North Face - the brand - isn’t just a company that sells gear. It was born in 1966 by two hiking junkies in San Francisco who opened a tiny mountaineering shop. They named it The North Face because, in climbing, the north face of a mountain is almost always the coldest, iciest, steepest way up. It’s the one route that scares even the best. And yet - it’s also the one route that builds legends .<br>Even the logo, that minimalist arc you see on jackets and gear, is modeled after Half Dome in Yosemite - a massive granite monolith that’s brutally difficult to climb from the north side. It’s a tribute to people who don’t go around the mountain, but through it. Who don’t take the trail, but make one.<br>And that’s where this connects back to us - founders picking our own “north face.” Everyone around you is telling you you’re doing it wrong. That your approach is too risky, your idea too weird, your strategy too unconventional. But you’re not here to play by rules that were designed for safer, smaller games. You’re here to open a route that doesn’t exist yet.<br>Because once someone makes it up the hard way, others will follow. The unknown becomes the path.<br>Sure, you could play it safe. You could follow the blueprint. But the blueprint was written by people who weren’t you, for businesses that weren’t yours, in markets that no longer exist. If you’re going to risk everything anyway, why not risk it for something that’s actually yours?<br>The North Face’s motto is Never Stop Exploring. That’s not just a call to hikers and skiers. That’s a battle cry for anyone choosing to build something that hasn’t been built yet. It’s for the misfits taking the hardest path, not to prove something - but because they believe there might be something worth discovering up there.<br>You’re not lost. You’re just opening the North Face.<br>Thanks for reading MVP on Steroids! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Subscribe
Share
Discussion about this post<br>CommentsRestacks
TopLatestDiscussions
No posts
Ready for more?
Subscribe
© 2026 Arsen · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice<br>Start your SubstackGet the app<br>Substack is the home for great culture
This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts