By Noah Rosenberg, Founder of Marco, this article was originally published on Medium.

If you follow the “startup porn,” companies launch through a fixed life cycle, punctuated by funding. “How far along are you?” is meant to be answered in terms of rounds.

For most reading this, that’s such an obvious point that it’s rarely even described.

Angel. Seed. A. B. C. Exit.

But when you’re actually building a company, none of that is relevant. It’s more like:

Think you know what you want to build.
Build the wrong thing.
Run out of money.
Meet a potential customer.
Find out they have no money.
Build something else.
Hide in shame.
Lose original staff.
Sue former partner.
Build a thing that someone actually wants.
Make a few sales.
Hire a better team.
Meet investors accidentally.
For like you’re tricking them into trusting you.
Cash the check.
Make more sales.
Move.
Grow.
Settle in.
Get ass kicked by competitor.
Raise more money.
Grow.

Companies grow organically, like trees. And like trees, founders need to be able to curl around obstacles, redirect, twist. By the end, it looks nothing like what you started with, but it can be big, strong and healthy.

The trick is to avoid rigid systems of plans.
Maintain optionality throughout the whole process.
Reserve the right to change your mind on the shortest notice.
Reserve the right to change it back tomorrow.
Reserve the right to earn money wherever you can find it.
Take a month off to create a side project and flip it to fund your first product.
Take on a client and learn how to build an app on their dime.

Founders: do whatever it takes to get your company grown. No one else understands your journey as well as you do.