Legacy Is Built, Not Bought: A Founder’s Reflection on Purpose

By Adam Kablanian

When I was building tech companies, the metrics were straightforward: user growth, revenue, market share, and exit valuations. Success was measurable and often celebrated with language of speed and scale. I’ve been lucky to reach some of those milestones — exits that made headlines, innovations that transformed industries, products that reached millions.

But there comes a moment when you realize that, while those achievements are important, they don't tell the whole story. Legacy isn't the same as success.

Legacy is slower. It’s deliberate. It’s built.

From Technology to Timelessness

In the tech world, we work in rapid cycles — months can feel like years, and entire markets can change in the time it takes to pour a glass of wine. But entering the world of winemaking has made me think differently. Here, the timeline isn’t measured in quarters but in seasons and decades. You plant today for someone else to harvest years later. You make decisions whose results you might never personally see.    

It’s a humbling change. It’s also a reminder that the things that endure — in business, in life — need patience, skill, and a vision that goes beyond yourself.

Purpose Beyond the Product

For me, legacy isn't about leaving a company with my name on the door or a wine label on a bottle. It’s about creating something meaningful — something that improves the lives of others.    

That’s why I often consider impact, not only in terms of economic contribution but also how leadership influences communities, employees, and the next generation. We don’t get to choose whether we leave a legacy — only what kind of legacy we leave.

The Responsibility of Leadership

August 19 is World Humanitarian Day, a day to recognize those who dedicate themselves to making the world a better place. While I don’t claim to be a humanitarian in the traditional sense, I believe the same core principle applies to leadership: we have an ethical duty to lead with integrity, fairness, and purpose.

The way we treat people in boardrooms, vineyards, or anywhere decisions are made — that is part of our legacy. And unlike financial results, that impact lasts much longer.

What We Choose to Pass On

One day, our businesses will be handed down, our titles forgotten, and our awards will gather dust. What endures are the values we taught, the people we motivated, and the example we set when no one was watching.

In technology, I learned how to build quickly. In winemaking, I’m learning how to create for future generations. In both, I’ve discovered that legacy isn’t something you simply get — it’s something you earn, decision by decision.

Because in the end, your most outstanding product isn't the company you founded or the wine you bottled.

It’s the story others will tell when you’re no longer in the room.