Launching a new product or project is like releasing a new song or movie.
You might have produced 20 hit songs before, but the moment you announce a new song, you’re primarily judged on your new song’s success, at least in the short term. You’re back in the game, competing with all 100M+ songs on Spotify.
The same goes for startups. You might have successfully exited your last company or held a senior exec role at a big company. But when you start a new zero-to-one venture, you’re in the arena again – competing on equal footing with every other founder, including scrappy 20-something “ramen founders.”
So, focus on building an exceptional product and solving real problems for users, not on name-dropping or selling your past resume. By doing the latter, you’re living in the past, not here and now.