Notes on leading yourself, ruthless simplicity, and AI.
Seventeen years of building teams, burning out twice, and starting over, written down.
All notes
- I can feel a founder who is about to quit
I can feel a founder who is about to quit. They don't say, "I'm done." They say: "I just need to push through this month." "I can't justify the cost of help...
- Your MVP should embarrass you
Your MVP should embarrass you. If it doesn't, you're just late. But let's be clear on what "embarrassing" means. It doesn't mean broken. It doesn't mean...
- Your first tech hire is usually a mistake
Your first tech hire is usually a mistake. Most founders hire a developer first. They want code. Now. So they hire hands. Here is the trap: Devs are paid to...
- Founders often fail due to fear of looking stupid
Founders often fail due to fear of looking stupid. Not because of the market. I almost tanked my business protecting my ego. Then I read "Rejection Proof" by...
- You are optimizing the wrong thing
You are optimizing the wrong thing. Most tech founders are building a beautiful corpse. You spend 4 hours on a design system. Your onboarding flow has a 70%...
- You pay $10K for code
You pay $10K for code. You get $4K of building. You think the problem is time allocation. It's not. The breakdown: → $2,000: Meetings, standups, planning (20%)...
- How a founder lost $300K and 18 months:
How a founder lost $300K and 18 months: Just on a rebuild that should not have happened. The founder had a working SaaS product. 50 paying customers. $8K MRR....
- I preach systemization
I preach systemization. Then I almost burned out 2 months in. I started this business to fix burned-out founders. I was the one nearing a meltdown this week....
- Don't hire your first developer yet
Don't hire your first developer yet. You're not ready. I know what you're thinking: "But I need to build." "I need to ship." "I need a technical co-founder, or...
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