I guess there is one thing replicable: a lot of outbound. A couple of months ago, he came across someone doing really interesting work on YouTube with just hundreds of views and sent him a note. “This happens a lot on GitHub, too,” he said. “Someone will write really good open source libraries and 20 people will download.” Send them a note. The aut... See more

"You can cold email nearly anyone, but nearly everyone overlooks how powerful it can be.

Sending one email each week that feels like a stretch can change your life. Will you get turned down? Sure, most of the time. But you only need one to pay off for something amazing to happen.

Take your time, write a thoughtful message, and muster the courage to... See more

As he walked toward the elevator after his final-round interview, I used my favorite tactic to get someone to commit to working for us. I asked him not to send me a traditional follow-up email that night, but to take a few days and send me a marathon letter from the heart about whether he wanted the role. If he was unsure, in writing that letter he

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When I get an email, I never go straight to the meeting. I ask how many full-time employees they have, how much money they’ve made, their funding history, how they acquire customers, and why they are building this business. The FTE and money-raised answers tell me what their burn rate is and how much they have left in the bank. Most founders think

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When any student writes me to ask a question, or request advice, or share their experience with one of my books, I can point them to my regular office hours and say, “Stop by or call anytime.” And they do. The result is that I’m much better connected to the student body at my university than I would be if I were still trying to arrange a custom-sch

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