Did Shopee Make Me Better or Softer?
A fear that's worth examining honestly.
What I gained
Left Shopee deliberately — no innovation required or encouraged there. But grateful for the experience:
- Learned to deal with things I dislike but still push toward the ultimate goal
- Learned to design systems — when to establish frameworks, when to abstract, when to leave things alone
- Learned what actually matters for a business
- These things made me more mature
The fear
Did these habits make me easy to compromise? Did I lose the ability to stick to what I believe? Am I drifting from the path to building great things?
Examining the fear
Evidence I haven't lost it:
- I left — that's conviction. I saw a ceiling and refused to accept it.
- I'm asking this question — people who've truly compromised don't worry about it
- I still have strong opinions about products (otherwise this conversation wouldn't exist)
What to watch for:
- Compromising on vision vs compromising on tactics — the first is dangerous, the second is wisdom
- "Picking battles" that conveniently avoids all battles
- Using "maturity" to justify not fighting for what matters
- Conflating "realistic" with "settling"
The real question
Learning to execute in hostile environments can:
- Sharpen conviction — you learn what's truly worth fighting for when everything has a cost
- Erode conviction — you learn that fighting is expensive and start avoiding it
Which one happened? Only I can answer that honestly.
Test: What was the last product decision I fought for despite resistance? How recently? How hard?
What maturity should look like
Not: "I've learned to accept things" But: "I've learned to choose my battles wisely while still fighting the ones that matter"
The discipline of shipping and constraints can strengthen conviction — you learn what's truly non-negotiable. The danger is if you stopped fighting for anything.