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Truth Over Feelings: Inside Opendoor’s Turnaround

16 July 2026Clarity & Focus

Source excerpt

No company decides to fail. It drifts there one comfortable lie at a time. Kaz Nejatian took over Opendoor when it was just months away from bankruptcy and set out to rebuild it from the ground up. What happened next shocked everyone. Most turnaround stories are told years later, by the winner, after the ending … The post Truth Over Feelings: Inside Opendoor’s Turnaround appeared first on Farnam Street.

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Apollo layer

What a founder can learn

Founder takeaway

Turnarounds start by replacing comfortable internal narratives with an honest assessment of the company’s condition. Surface the assumptions masking existential risks before attempting to rebuild.

Why it matters

Companies rarely choose failure outright; they can drift toward it when teams avoid painful evidence. Creating a culture that rewards truth over reassurance helps founders recognize threats early enough to act.

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