Right now, you occupy a rare position. The company is behind you, but the next chapter hasn't fully arrived. You're standing in the space between two identities—close enough to the build to remember what it felt like, yet far enough away to see what it cost. Two years from now, you’ll have rehearsed a safer, polished version a hundred times on podcasts and at dinners. The rough edges will disappear. Right now, in this narrow window, you can still tell the story from inside th