Nairobi, May 6 -- There is a version of the founder story we rarely tell. Not the one about surviving the lean years, managing cash flow through drought, or holding a team together when the system turns hostile. That version has its own dignity and difficulty. The one we rarely tell begins later. It kicks in when things start working.

It is easy to assume that success is the reward for surviving. That once the early friction eases, revenue steadies and recognition arrives, the hardest work is behind you.

But founders who have lived through that transition know a quieter truth. The shadow that emerges in seasons of success is more insidious than the one that follows failure. It comes without announcement. It wears the same face you have ...