I came across a story from the Chandogya Upanishad, wherein a father teaches his son through a simple experiment.
He asks him to dissolve a lump of salt in water and return the next day. By the next morning, the salt is gone, no longer visible.
The father then asks his son to taste the water: from the top, the middle, and the bottom.
Each sip tastes exactly the same, consistently salty throughout.
The father then imparts a valuable lesson to his son and says,
“The salt is there, even if you can’t see it. Just like the Self, it exists in everything, even when it isn’t visible.”
That story stayed with me and I believe something similar happens in early stage investing wherein there’s often very little that can be fully seen or measured with certainty.
Pitch decks change, product roadmaps evolve, market dynamics shift faster than any model can predict. What endures, however is far less visible : conviction, clarity, values, intent.
It makes me realize that everything that matters may not always be visible yet it leaves a trace : constant, steady, unmistakably present.
Just like salt in water.
