What Makes Companies Last

Jim Collins studied companies that lasted 50+ years.
The surprising part wasn’t what they had it was what they didn’t.

Not visionary founders.
Not perfect products.
Not flawless timing.

The difference was clarity of purpose.

Enduring companies knew why they existed. Not to maximize profit but to pursue something specific. Profit came later.

3M existed to innovate. Money followed.
Disney existed to create magic. Profit followed.

It sounds poetic. It’s actually practical.

When purpose is clear, decisions get easier. At Vestcodes, ours is simple: make security accessible to every developer. That’s not a revenue goal. Revenue is the side effect.

This clarity kills bad decisions.
A feature idea comes up. The question isn’t “Will it sell?”
It’s “Does this help developers understand security better?”

If the answer is no, we don’t build it.

Companies that chase profit say yes to everything. They get distracted. They lose coherence.

Enduring companies look boring by comparison. They do the same thing exceptionally over and over.

Amazon: “Be Earth’s most customer-centric company.” For decades.
Southwest: “Be the customer’s first choice for short-haul travel.” Simple. Durable.

The lesson is blunt: purpose isn’t romantic. It’s strategic.

If you don’t know why you exist, you’ll build whatever pays this quarter.
That’s not a company. That’s a mercenary outfit.

Great companies last because they’re built on something other than money.