# Tech Debt and Startups > The interest rate on tech debt is super hard to know a priori so I’m pretty convinced the best strategy is to take on a lot of tech debt but stay vigilant and pay off anything quickly that turns out to have a high rate. > > My code is full of `TODO`: this is going to cause pain later. And in a lot of cases those things sit there for a year and never cause anything at all. This is amplified in the world of startups! In startups your ability to succeed rests entirely on your ability to move quickly in **idea space**. Fail to do that and you will die. So, to move quickly you take on debt. It is a *tool*. It is not always bad. In general you should pay off high interest debt first, *however*, if **opportunity cost** is higher than the interest, then maybe you don’t want to. However, if you are in a situation where debt is crushing you, it makes sense to pay it off. --- Date: 20221128 Links to: Tags: #review References: * [Original Twitter Post](https://twitter.com/bernhardsson/status/1592002812212555778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.notion.so%2F65141c6bb0314318a4876cf743e785d4%3Fv%3D094e0942c7424397ba113b8e4747f6f8%26p%3Dc7942bebfc2b402cb3ddf9b27486a559%26pm%3Ds)