The Weight of the Middle
bySantosh Nagasamy
At the start, there is always fire. It crackles, it blinds, it consumes.
You run on caffeine and conviction. Every meeting feels like destiny. Every order feels like proof. Every small win is celebrated like a revolution.
I remember those days at Phitons. The energy was pure lightning. We were not just building products; we were building a world without plastic. We believed nothing could stop us.
But fire has its own nature. It flares, it fades. And one day you wake up and realize the adrenaline has worn off but the mountain still stands.
This Is the Middle
We are no longer the tiny scrappy startup. We are not yet the giant we dream of becoming.
We are something harder to define, a big small company. Too large to be fragile, too small to be invincible.
And this place, this stretch, is brutal. It has no applause. No finish line. No romance.
It is the quiet, grinding test that separates those who endure from those who simply burn out.
The Seduction of Quitting
Here is the danger. This phase whispers in your ear.
“Slow down.” “No one will notice if you stop.” “The world can live without your mission.”
And maybe it can. Maybe it always could.
But founders do not build because the world cannot live without it. We build because we cannot live without building it.
That is the vow. That is the curse. That is the privilege.
From Sparks to Stamina
In the early days, leadership is speed. React, pivot, hustle. But now leadership is stamina. Hold steady, build systems, make the hard unglamorous choices.
We move from firefighting to fireproofing. From passion to discipline. From what is possible tomorrow to what must survive ten years from now.
It feels slower. It feels heavier. Yet it is in this heaviness that companies are truly forged.
Why We Keep Walking
So why do we keep going?
Not hype. Hype is a sugar rush. Not ego. Ego cannot carry weight this heavy. Not even the market. The market cheers and jeers in cycles.
We keep going because of belief.
Belief that a healthier planet is not optional. Belief that our people, our EcoPhites, are not just employees but torchbearers. Belief that one day, this long exhausting stretch will become the story others point to as the proof of why we made it.
The Truth About the Middle
The beginning makes the headlines. The end gets the glory. But what lies in between?
It is the weight carried in silence. The grind when the spark has gone. The choice every single day to keep moving even when the destination hides itself.
And here is the hardest truth. This in-between stage is what defines the end.
Because anyone can start. And everyone dreams of finishing. Only those who endure this invisible stretch, who hold the line when energy fades and hope blurs, ever arrive.
To Every Founder in the Middle
If you are here too, walking this unseen road, I see you.
The fire may have dimmed. The destination may feel nowhere in sight. But this very place, this very weight, is what differentiates.
Because the middle is not a pause in the journey. The middle is the journey.
I would not still be here without my co-founders, who have walked beside me from the very first day. Nor without my fellow EcoPhites, who carry this mission forward with belief and courage every single day. You are the reason this middle has meaning, and the reason the destination will one day be reached.
And when we finally look back, we will know with certainty. This was the part that mattered most.
🔥 If you are in your own middle, what keeps you walking?
#Leadership #Entrepreneurship #StartupJourney #Sustainability #FounderLife #Resilience #EcoPhites #Phitons