The process of creation of a startup is the creation of a system. “A system is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organised in a way that achieves something”. Your ability to influence that system extends to the elements (called “stocks”) you chose, the way in which they are organised (called “flows”), and the achievement itself. There is also a feedback loop in most systems, which takes time. Whether it’s adding a new feature, changing pricing, architecture, go-to-market and so on, it needs to be planned, implemented and measured for impact. Your goal as a startup is to get to product-market fit (“being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.”). Thus the achievement, or output, is to produce a product fit for a given market using a model which both satisfies the market and is profitable for the producer. The race is to do that before you run out of money, or grit, or both. Since feedback loops take time, and since changes to your system...