“try and pick a problem that you want to work on for 10 years even if it were to fail and that's kind of how I feel like even if Monarch were to fail I would feel good that we like move the ball forward.”

Pick a Problem You'd Work on for 10 Years Even if It Failed — That's Your Filter

YC's framing is that startups die because founders quit, not because they run out of money. Val uses a personal filter that sidesteps that risk: choose the problem you would keep working on with no exit in sight. For Monarch, that was household financial health — a space Val cared about before Mint, cared about while funding it personally, and cared about through multiple black swan events. The 10-year test surfaces real commitment before you invest real years.