Entrepreneurship

Type 2 Fun

Published on Apr 14

A friend introduced me to the concept of "Type 2 Fun" a while back, and it's stayed with me ever since.

Type 2 Fun is the stuff that's hard, uncomfortable, or even miserable while you're doing it — but that you look back on with pride and gratitude. Long hikes with brutal switchbacks. Cold morning workouts. The thing you keep putting off because it asks too much of you.

Once I had the name for it, I started seeing it everywhere at work.

Giving someone difficult feedback isn't fun in the moment. Neither is sitting with a strategy problem that refuses to resolve, navigating a painful conflict on your team, or standing behind a decision when the outcome is still uncertain.

Running a hiring process for an important role is practically Type 2 Fun by definition — exhausting while it's happening, and an enormous gift when you get it right.

The more you lean into hard things and practice Type 2 Fun, the more you build the muscle, and the harder you are willing to work for the payoff.

I think founders underestimate how much of company-building is Type 2 Fun by design — and how that's actually a good thing. The hard parts aren't a sign that something's broken. They're evidence that you're doing something worth doing.

The question isn't how to avoid Type 2 Fun. It's whether you can recognize it when you're in the middle of it, and keep going.