The 9 Laws of Karma for Startup Founders

Starting a startup is like planting a seed. You nurture it, face storms, and hope it grows into something enduring. But what if ancient wisdom like the Laws of Karma could guide you through the chaos? Here’s how these nine principles apply to the rollercoaster of building a startup—from ideation to scaling.

1. The Great Law: “Whatever you put into the universe will come back to you”

Stage: Foundation
Your startup’s core values, work ethic, and culture are the seeds you plant. Cut corners early, and it’ll haunt you later (think toxic culture or technical debt). Pour energy into building a strong team and solving real problems, and you’ll attract loyal customers and investors.
Lesson: Invest in integrity. It compounds.

2. The Law of Creation: “Life doesn’t happen by itself—make it happen”

Stage: Ideation → Validation
No one will hand you a market-ready product. Start with scrappy prototypes, talk to users, and iterate. Dropbox started with a demo video; Airbnb sold cereal boxes to fund their idea. Creation requires action, not just vision.
Lesson: Stop waiting for permission. Build, test, repeat.

3. The Law of Humility: “Accept something to change it”

Stage: Early Challenges
Your first product will have flaws. Your pitch might flop. Humility means admitting, “This isn’t working,” without ego. Instagram began as Burbn, a cluttered app—until they accepted feedback and pivoted to photos.
Lesson: Embrace the cringe. Pivot faster.

4. The Law of Responsibility: “Own what’s in your life”

Stage: Scaling & Setbacks
Missed deadlines? Churn? Blaming the market or team solves nothing. Take responsibility. When Slack’s gaming startup failed, they owned the setback—and repurposed their internal tool into a $28B company.
Lesson: Blame = stagnation. Ownership = reinvention.

5. The Law of Connection: “Past, present, and future are linked”

Stage: Strategic Growth
Every decision today shapes tomorrow. Amazon’s long-term bets (like AWS) seemed reckless in 2006 but built an empire. Audit your past mistakes (e.g., hiring too fast), leverage current wins, and align actions with long-term goals.
Lesson: Strategy is threading time.

6. The Law of Focus: “You can’t think of two things at once”

Stage: Prioritization
Early-stage startups die by distraction. Focus on one core feature (like Twitter’s 140-character limit) or one customer segment. Multitasking spreads you thin—depth beats breadth.
Lesson: Do less, better.

7. The Law of Here and Now: “You can’t be present if you’re looking backward”

Stage: Adaptation
Dwelling on past failures (“Why did our first launch flop?”) or clinging to outdated ideas kills agility. Netflix shifted from DVDs to streaming because they focused on now. Stay nimble, listen to today’s data.
Lesson: Adapt or become a Blockbuster.

8. The Law of Change: “History repeats until you learn”

Stage: Iteration
If your user retention is low, throwing more money at ads won’t fix it. Learn. Survey customers, fix onboarding, and break the cycle. Facebook’s “Move Fast and Break Things” evolved to “Move Fast with Stable Infra” after repeated outages.
Lesson: Feedback loops > history loops.

9. The Law of Growth: “Change yourself, and your life follows”

Stage: Scaling
Scaling a startup requires scaling yourself. Learn to delegate (Elon Musk slept at Tesla’s factory but eventually hired experts). Develop emotional resilience. Your growth unlocks the company’s ceiling.
Lesson: Founders grow first.

Final Word: Karma Isn’t Magic—It’s Momentum

In startups, karma is the ripple effect of daily choices. Plant patience, integrity, and focus—the harvest will follow. Stumble, own it, adapt, and keep growing. After all, the only thing harder than building a startup? Explaining to your parents what you actually do.

Now go create your karma.

P.S. If this resonated, share it with a founder who’s currently “accepting feedback” (read: crying in a Zoom call).

Cheers,

Sim