Days 12 to 14 – From Inspiration to Reality: Grounding the Vision

Midway through February, the energy around SWAIN shifted once again. In the early days we had been testing and trimming. Now we found ourselves surrounded by inputs from the outside world. Exhibitions, early conversations, and moments of quiet reflection started to shape the way we grounded our vision. This was not about building in a vacuum anymore. It was about building with both feet planted in the messy, demanding reality that surrounds most digital tools.

During this period, we engaged more with innovation networks, trade shows, and other founders. We started sharing space with people outside our immediate circle. Some were supportive, some were sceptical, but almost all were interested. These interactions didn’t lead to any immediate technical breakthroughs, but they gave us something more valuable, external friction. A way to test our thinking against the real world.

We also spent time observing how others push through complexity. One of our team set off on a brutal solo challenge that involved hiking across ice and fog before dawn. That physical test became a metaphor for how we were operating. You often can’t see the outcome, but you keep moving forward because the process teaches you where to place your feet.

Day 14 was particularly reflective. Conversations touched on the waste we see in tech — devices thrown away, unused subscriptions, abandoned platforms. In contrast, SWAIN was shaping up to be lightweight, purposeful and deeply practical. It wouldn’t try to replace everything. It would solve one thing very well. That clarity stood out when we compared our path to others in the space. Most tools were busy stacking features. We were trying to remove the need for them.

By the end of this stretch, the vision had hardened. Not in a rigid sense, but in a way that gave it weight. The product had been shaped by conversation, challenge and contradiction. And that, we realised, is what building in public is really about. It is not just exposure. It is exposure that changes you.

Key takeaway

You don’t build clarity by standing still. You build it by stepping into friction, facing contradiction, and adjusting your course without losing your purpose.