At Jotform, we take our intern program seriously. New interns don’t just shadow employees or sit through endless meetings — they’re trained, mentored, and trusted with real projects.
At Jotform, we take our intern program seriously. New interns don’t just shadow employees or sit through endless meetings — they’re trained, mentored, and trusted with real projects. This takes time and effort, but it’s worth it. Many of our top employees started as interns. We’ve watched them grow into leaders because we believed in them early on.
That’s what long-term thinking looks like.
It might seem easier to hire someone already experienced. That’s often the short-term move — quicker, simpler, and seemingly more efficient. But what seems efficient now can hurt your company in the future. Developing your people, your product, and your strategy takes patience. But the payoff? It's far greater.
In today's business world, especially in industries like Software as a Service (SaaS), sustainable growth isn’t just a buzzword — it’s essential. Building a subscriber base and growing organically is a slow process, and for many founders, that’s frustrating. It’s tempting to turn to outside investment to speed things up. But raising capital too soon can create an illusion of success without the foundation to support it.
Look no further than Theranos. The company was hyped and heavily funded, valued at $9 billion — all built on technology that never worked. Its founder ended up in prison, and the company collapsed. While that’s an extreme example, it shows what can happen when founders chase fast results at the cost of integrity and truth.
That’s why I advocate for bootstrapping. It may lack the glamour of a big funding round, but it gives you something more valuable: freedom. When you're not racing to please investors, you can listen to your users, improve your product, and evolve on your own terms. Bootstrapping builds resilience and true innovation — not just optics.
But short-term thinking isn’t only driven by desire. Sometimes, it comes from fear. The scarcity mindset — a psychological effect studied by professors Eldar Shafir and Sendhil Mullainathan — occurs when you feel like resources are limited. This can be time, money, or even mental energy. When you're stuck in survival mode, you focus only on what’s immediately in front of you, often at the expense of the big picture.
Founders are especially prone to this mindset, especially early on. The challenge is to avoid letting fear dictate decisions. Instead, lean into an abundance mindset. Start by focusing on what you do have — not what you lack. If you're building slowly, consider that a gift. You have time to experiment, to try different approaches, and to fail without the pressure of a ticking investor clock.
Another powerful shift is building a connection with your future self — a concept researchers call “future self-continuity.” When the future feels far away, it’s easy to ignore it. But the more clearly you can picture your future self — where you want to be in 10, 20, or 50 years — the more likely you are to make wise, strategic choices today.
Try this: imagine sitting down with your future self for a conversation. What advice would they give you? What would they tell you to focus on — or stop wasting time on? The clearer that vision becomes, the more you’ll align your current decisions with long-term goals.
Ultimately, building something that lasts means resisting the lure of fast wins. Focus on sustainability. Nurture your team. Make decisions that favor growth over gimmicks. Most importantly, don’t sacrifice tomorrow for a shortcut today. Long-term thinking may not be flashy, but it's the foundation of every truly successful business.
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