Both are valid, one does not cancel the other out.
I’ve been part of a fun project backed by good people and then had new tech eat our lunch. We still spent long hours trying to find value somewhere. That was less fun but OK, not a waste.
I have been part of a slow traction project when the first great dot-com crash happened and too many contracts got cancelled. That was the worst time of my professional life but not a waste.
I have spent time on very promising tech in a field ripe for either a good living providing something needed in service deserts, or an exit. The founder found every excuse not to launch, to keep versioning pre-launch. That neverlaunch project was a waste of a year that I’ll never get back.
Learning when to bail is a true skill. Not to quit just because it is messy or inconvenient, but when it is actually harmful.
I’ve been part of a fun project backed by good people and then had new tech eat our lunch. We still spent long hours trying to find value somewhere. That was less fun but OK, not a waste.
I have been part of a slow traction project when the first great dot-com crash happened and too many contracts got cancelled. That was the worst time of my professional life but not a waste.
I have spent time on very promising tech in a field ripe for either a good living providing something needed in service deserts, or an exit. The founder found every excuse not to launch, to keep versioning pre-launch. That neverlaunch project was a waste of a year that I’ll never get back.
Learning when to bail is a true skill. Not to quit just because it is messy or inconvenient, but when it is actually harmful.