--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you built a successful company the…" description: "\"If you built a successful company the first time, it's really important not to fall into the trap of resting on your laurels and doing the same thing t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/caterina-fake-6230_business_if-you-built-a-successful-company-the-fi_969763.jpg" --- # If you built a successful company the first time, it's… ![“If you built a successful company the first time, it's really important not to fall into the trap of resting on your laurels and doing the same thing the next time. It's stepping into the unknown that enables you to create something fresh, new, and innovative.” quote by Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/caterina-fake-6230_business_if-you-built-a-successful-company-the-fi_969763.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/caterina-fake-6230_business_if-you-built-a-successful-company-the-fi_969763.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/caterina-fake-6230_business_if-you-built-a-successful-company-the-fi_969763.jpg) > “If you built a successful company the first time, it's really important not to fall into the trap of resting on your laurels and doing the same thing the next time. It's stepping into the unknown that enables you to create something fresh, new, and innovative.” [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She warns against complacency after early success, urging continual innovation and risk‑taking. **In simple terms:** Never rest on past wins. Key Takeaway Keep pushing boundaries, avoid stagnation. Themes innovation growth entrepreneurship risk Mood inspirational cautionary Type business advice leadership insight When to use this quote - startup launches - product pivots - market expansion strategies Key Concepts disruptive thinking continuous learning leadership Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance stability with experimentation? - When is it time to pivot? A Different Perspective Over‑risk can lead to failure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Next time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-time/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-company/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknown/) ## Related quotes > [I think anybody that's worked hard and has built something and has been successful can testify to how, you know, how wonderful that was,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/i-think-anybody-that-s-worked-hard-and-has-built-something-and-has/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) > [No successful company has had ever been the product of just one person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/no-successful-company-has-had-ever-been-the-product-of-just-one-person/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [At Uniqlo, we're thinking ahead. 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It also happens to be an airline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-mackay/southwest-airlines-is-successful-because-the-company-understands-it-s/) [Harvey Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-mackay/) > [HubSpot has used the lean startup method to build a spectacularly successful company. What I particularly love about HubSpot is that they are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ries/hubspot-has-used-the-lean-startup-method-to-build-a-spectacularly/) [Eric Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ries/) > [I've become absolutely convinced that the seminal difference between successful companies and mediocre or unsuccessful ones has little, if anything, to do with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/i-ve-become-absolutely-convinced-that-the-seminal-difference-between/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [They have a policy in China for their big companies called "Go abroad." It's a rational thing for both the company and the country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-dimon/they-have-a-policy-in-china-for-their-big-companies-called-go-abroad/) [Jamie Dimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-dimon/) ## More by Caterina Fake > [Sometimes you climb the mountain, and you fall and fail. Maybe there is a different path that will take you up. Sometimes a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/sometimes-you-climb-the-mountain-and-you-fall-and-fail-maybe-there-is/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [My background is in art. I was a painter and an occasional sculptor, and I really like materials - you know, stuff. Physical objects.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/my-background-is-in-art-i-was-a-painter-and-an-occasional-sculptor/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [As a child, I learned hundreds of poems by heart, which I can recite to this day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/as-a-child-i-learned-hundreds-of-poems-by-heart-which-i-can-recite-to/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [Trade sales are the bulk of exits, and there's no shame in that. Sometimes, it's exactly the right thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/trade-sales-are-the-bulk-of-exits-and-there-s-no-shame-in-that/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [Entrepreneurship works on the apprenticeship model. 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Be brilliant. Be beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/dream-struggle-create-prevail-be-daring-be-brave-be-loving-be/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [Vacations are good, and I come back energized, with the whiff of Hawaiian Tropic in the air and 2,000 messages in my Inbox.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/vacations-are-good-and-i-come-back-energized-with-the-whiff-of/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [Because the Internet is a medium, it doesn't care whether it transmits love or hate. It is what we build and who we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/because-the-internet-is-a-medium-it-doesn-t-care-whether-it-transmits/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/working-on-the-right-thing-is-probably-more-important-than-working/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [If the business were a play, Act One is: Woohoo, bright and bushy-tailed. We're going to make something great! Act Two is: We're six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/if-the-business-were-a-play-act-one-is-woohoo-bright-and-bushy-tailed/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [I was an eccentric teenager in suburban New Jersey, in a town mostly interested in sports, popularity, and clothes. A fan of Jorge Luis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/i-was-an-eccentric-teenager-in-suburban-new-jersey-in-a-town-mostly/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [When you have a failed pitch, you meet many more venture capitalists than you really want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/when-you-have-a-failed-pitch-you-meet-many-more-venture-capitalists/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [Make time less precious. We are way too efficient, making use of every hour, every minute. When you were a kid, didn’t you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/make-time-less-precious-we-are-way-too-efficient-making-use-of-every/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) [Explore all 99 Caterina Fake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. 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It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. 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