What It Really Takes to Build Something That Lasts​

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At BluShift, we believe every journey, whether it’s writing your first line of code or leading a team through uncertainty, starts with curiosity and grows through experience. That’s why Shifted Perspectives isn’t just about technology; it’s about the people who build, lead, and evolve with it.

In this edition, we’re handing over to Sheldon Nossel, Co-Founder of BluShift. As a leader who has built BluShift from the ground up, Sheldon has seen firsthand what it takes to turn vision into something that lasts.

In his piece, What It Really Takes to Build Something That Lasts, he reflects on the unseen side of entrepreneurship: the resilience, the rebuilding, and the personal growth that come with creating a company built not just on skill, but on heart, trust, and belief.

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When people ask what it’s like to build a company from the ground up, I wish I could tell them it’s glamorous. That it’s all exciting pitches, innovative projects, and big wins. The truth is, most of it is grit. It’s resilience. It’s learning, failing, and rebuilding, over and over again, until one day you look back and realise you’ve built something that actually works.​​

Growth Isn’t Just About the Business​

When we started BluShift, I thought growth meant more clients, more projects, and more people. What I didn’t realise was that the real growth would happen within me. I had to learn how to manage stress, how to stay calm when everything felt like it was falling apart, and how to let go of control.​

In the beginning, BluShift was my whole identity. Every success felt personal, and every setback hit even harder. I gave it everything: late nights, weekends, relationships, because I believed that’s what it took to make it work. And honestly, in those early days, it did. But over time I learned that kind of sacrifice isn’t sustainable. To keep building something great, you have to protect the person behind it too.​​

Leadership Is Built in the Tough Moments​

People often think leadership is about being the expert or having all the answers. For me, it started the day things went wrong. Losing team members, watching projects fail, having to make hard calls, those moments tested every part of me.​

That’s when I realised leadership is less about doing everything yourself and more about trusting others, setting standards, and building systems that outlast you. It’s about showing up with consistency, even when you don’t feel like it, and guiding people through uncertainty.​​

You Don’t Just Build a Company, You Rebuild Yourself​

Building BluShift forced me to unlearn a lot. I had to learn patience when things moved slower than I wanted. I had to learn to delegate, to stop micromanaging, and to accept that people would do things differently to how I would. And that’s the point, because if everything depends on you, it’s not really a business, it’s just a job with extra stress. There’s a strange transformation that happens when you build something from nothing. You start by trying to prove yourself, but somewhere along the way you start trying to empower others instead. That shift, from ego to empathy, is where real growth happens.​​

What I’d Tell the Next Generation of BluShift Leaders​

If I could bottle up one piece of advice, it would be this: everything is people and everything is sales. You’re always selling your vision, your trust, your belief in what’s possible. But more than that, success comes from resilience. It’s about showing up the next day when things fall apart, and surrounding yourself with people who will do the same.​​

BluShift has changed a lot since the days we worked from my grandparents’ cottage, but the lesson hasn’t. Building something that lasts takes more than skill or luck. It takes heart. It takes belief. And it takes the courage to keep going when no one’s watching.​