Switching an Instagram handle takes 30 seconds. Unless you’ve been overthinking it for months. I’d known for a while that @stoptheswirl didn’t fit anymore. But I couldn’t seem to move to a new handle—until a deadline forced my hand.
This exemplifies a type of tension I see over and over with founders: We'll get stuck not on a huge bet—but on a small, seemingly low-stakes decision that somehow becomes a blocker.
The unblocker for me turned out to be the final field on a SXSW speaking application, on a Sunday evening just moments before the deadline.
I’d been circling the decision for quite a while, but now I had 30 seconds to make the call. Whatever I typed would have to hold for the next few months.
And with that, @stoptheswirl became @ambiguityhacks.
When things are ambiguous, it’s tempting to think just one more night of sleep will give us clarity. But that’s not how it works. Clarity comes from movement, not from mulling.
I both know this and am not immune from getting caught up myself. That's what all my work is about. I’ve helped founders and executives make multi-million-dollar bets with less initial clarity than I felt picking a handle. And while I have a body of expertise I bring to the table, I'm still right here in it with you.
Even if you’re not founding a business, I bet you’ve hit this kind of friction: small decisions that become standstills when the bigger path is still unfolding.
Whether you’re starting something new or evolving something established, the early stages of anything highly uncertain feel like this.
Are you in the ambiguity of building a business?
Over the past few years, as I've coached many people through transitional times, a strikingly high proportion of them have been startup-curious.
I know this space well. Before starting my own business, I built a practice at IDEO called Venture Design, where I helped many companies launch and grow startups—corporate ventures with plenty of ambiguity. (My IDEOU Designing a Business course, run with my colleagues Kerry and Dave, has a taster of that expertise).
So this fall, I'm launching Startup by Design—a cohort running from September to February. To the roller coaster of building a business, it will offer structure, intention, and companionship.
You don’t have to have a pitch deck or product to benefit—just a desire to build something that matters.
If Startup by Design sounds like your kind of move, I’d love to have you.
I know it's my kind of place. Even with all my experience in launching startups, I need the accountability and camaraderie too. I'll be building alongside you (thankfully, not on instagram handles!).
Not your thing? Click here to opt out of updates about this cohort, and you’ll still get my weekly newsletter.
Why @ambiguityhacks?
And whew, I'm so grateful to have moved on my instagram handle. In the few days since the switch, I've already had insights I couldn't get without that step. And the handle itself is intentional*—just not precious.
My business has been growing over the past year in a way I really love, and it's become increasingly clear that my expertise in ambiguity—change’s constant companion—is what brings people to collaborate with me.
And with that, this week is a two-launch week—Startup by Design and @ambiguityhacks. Welcome to both!
*I have the lovely Chloe Ambrose to thank for the actual name—she spotted that my account was already peppered with great hacks.
