The Minimalist Entrepreneur: How Great Founders Do More with Less

If there’s a Gumroad secret, it’s this one: we aim for complete information symmetry. There’s nothing I know that you don’t, and eventually there’ll be nothing you and I know that our creators don’t. We are building the best product, with the best team, for the best community. Being open about everything is the flywheel that brings more amazing peo... See more

Now more than ever before, we don’t need to move to a place called Silicon Valley, go to a school called Harvard or Stanford, and raise money from the venture capitalists. The internet lets you learn from anywhere, network with anyone, and raise money directly from customers.

Most people don’t start. Most people who start don’t continue. Most people who continue give up. Many winners are just the last ones standing. Don’t give up.

For the minimalist entrepreneur trying to make an impact, community is a way to stay focused: Instead of changing the world, you can change your community’s world.

Don’t be a product visionary—or, worse, a product dictator. Your company shouldn’t be a cult of personality, building exclusively what you want on the timelines you decide. WeWork is one example of how that path leads to certain doom. Among the numerous excesses, questionable decision making, and lavish capital infusions based on little evidence th... See more

Speaking of vulnerability, minimalist entrepreneurs share their stories, from struggle to success.

Nordstrom, for example, is famed for its customer service. In one iconic story, a customer brings a set of tires to the store to return even though Nordstrom sells clothes, not tires. The store accepts the tires anyway and fully refunds the customer. In another tale, a clerk who can’t find the right pair of shoes at any nearby Nordstrom store recom... See more

Your job listings should be a filter, not a magnet. Most people won’t enjoy working at your company, and your job listings should make it clear that they should look elsewhere. The people who get all the way through are the ones you should have more serious conversations with.

Press cycles about million-dollar fund-raises and billion-dollar valuations are short-lived and targeted at aspiring entrepreneurs, not people like your customers. Building your audience that way doesn’t work, because a months-old startup has nothing to say, besides that a few rich people gave them some money. Trust me, I know.