Written for EO by Dave Pributsky, cofounder of 2920 Sleep

One day, a hare was making fun of a tortoise for being so slow.

“Do you ever get anywhere?” the hare asked with a mocking laugh.

“Yes,” the tortoise replied, “and I’ll get there sooner than you think. I’ll run you a race and prove it.”

No, this isn’t storytime for entrepreneurs. At some time in our lives, we’ve heard the tale of “The Tortoise and the Hare.” This classic fable teaches us that the race does not always go to the fastest.

Rapid growth and market dominance might seem great in the business world, but they are not goals that every company—or every leader—should chase blindly. Sometimes it’s better to start slow and truly understand your market before shifting into rapid-growth mode.

Lessons From the Throne

While we rightly celebrate the Amazons, Apples, and Googles of the world for their tremendous success, let’s not forget about the many promising companies that flew too close to the sun too quickly.