Getting Going
Your early days are not about landing the perfect job – it’s about building a trajectory.
In other words, unleashing opportunities for more upside – and more lifetime value – throughout your career.
Early roles should ask more of you than you think you’re ready for. They’ll teach you how to show up when the work isn’t glamorous, how to grow into responsibilities you haven’t held before, and how to build the foundational skills that will serve you for a lifetime.
Here’s our tactical advice, honest reflections, and tools to help you navigate your first few years: how to build a resume that opens doors, how to get into rooms where real work happens, how to develop the habits and capabilities that make you indispensable, and how to take the risks most likely to uncap potential two, five, 20 years down the road.
It’s not about shortcuts – it’s about momentum. Let’s get moving.
You can't have an outsized outcome if you go for the predictable path.”
— From Emily Holdman in “How to Buy Great Businesses,” The Fort
Definitions from Permanent Equity’s Operator’s Dictionary:
"Safe doesn’t, hasn’t, and won’t generate outsized returns."
“You should only bet on things that have the optionality to go really, really well if they work.”
— From Tim Hanson’s “There Is No Medium Risk”
In other words, no career move is truly “safe” — staying put, starting over, or jumping industries all come with risks. The key is to choose risk intentionally, not avoid it entirely. Safe bets can have hidden costs (like stagnation or burnout), just as bold ones can carry real upside.