Speed Also Creates Value

 Speed Also Creates Value

There’s a romantic notion that everything meaningful must take decades to mature. But that overlooks a fundamental truth of the modern world: speed can be a form of quality.

Not everything needs to be a “50-year-old tree.” In many cases, waiting too long is wasteful—of opportunity, of learning, and of relevance. The world changes quickly, and slow solutions often arrive too late to matter.

The critique of speed in software and company building assumes that stability and longevity are always the primary goals. But they aren’t. Often, the real value lies in rapid experimentation—the ability to test ideas, fail cheaply, and move on to something better.

Short-lived projects aren’t necessarily failures—they can be compressed learning cycles. Startups that shut down early free up people, ideas, and energy for new attempts that may have greater impact. That’s not a breach of trust; it’s adaptation to a dynamic environment.

So-called “friction” isn’t inherently good either. Slow processes, bureaucracy, and excessive validation often persist out of inertia, not necessity. Reducing them doesn’t mean sacrificing quality—it means removing obstacles that no longer make sense.

As for AI and automation, the argument that they shorten the lifespan of software can be flipped: by accelerating creation and iteration, they allow good ideas to evolve faster and survive, while bad ones fade out early—as they should.

And the idea that “saved time” never really exists misses the point. That’s not a failure of tools, but a human choice in how to use them. Saving time is still valuable—even if we choose to fill it.

In the end, not everything needs deep roots to matter. Some of the most important innovations come from speed, flexibility, and a willingness not to get attached.

Sometimes what matters isn’t how long something lasts—but how much it moves the world while it exists.