Pick your battles

You have problems. Time is the currency you spend on the problem. The energy you expend on the problem is proportional to how much you like solving it multiplied by the time taken. A pretty simple equation.

Time spent * Love for the problem = Energy required for solution

Here's a little story on how you can optimize problem-solving.

Take a look at this Logo.

The logo is from FreshWorks, a company that went IPO in August 2021 and currently boasts a market cap of roughly USD 4B. They make software that caters to customer support, marketing, sales, and IT services. Before rebranding as Freshworks, and much before anyone knew about their ticketing software, they were called FreshDesk.

Here's the first Logo from 2013

When this Logo was released, another company that had nothing to do with ticketing software legally challenged FreshDesk and asked them to change it. This is documented in an old blog post of theirs.

Back in 2013, they had a problem. A big company wants you to change your Logo owing to their love of oranges. Do you change it or fight them for what's rightfully yours? Technically, you've done nothing wrong. So what did FreshDesk do?

They changed their logo to this.

Why did they do it? It's a matter of choosing between two equations. Do I want to...

Spend 4 months with lawyers * Working on a legal case = Keep Logo

Spend 4 months with Product * Working on new features = Better Product

FreshWorks spent its energy making its Product better and delighting its customers. It was the right decision. Early adopters are more likely to appreciate a product for solving a problem of theirs. Brand affinity is not a problem that early-stage startups are looking to solve.

This decision-making framework applies to most outcomes across disciplines. Think about where you want to spend your energy. Pick your battles.