Startup Advice

I even pretend that my client’s business isn’t a business at all. Instead, I pretend it’s a book.

Whether you realize it or not, your business is indeed a lot like a book.

Like a book, it has a main idea. It’s “about” something. That main idea may be sharp and distinct, or it may be broad and commoditized. It may be easy for people to talk about, or... See more

How can we better align incentives between founders and funders, and enable more people to build enduring companies with patience, care, and preservation at the center?

To help you make it through the darkness, here’s a series of concrete actions you can take today to try to turn things around:

1. Talk to more users (actually do it)


2. Change your target audience/ICP


3. Change your positioning/messaging/pitch


4. Try a “kickstarter” to get the word out


5. Find something that is working and pivot fully to that


6. Give it a bit more time


7. G

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For the past decade, our idolatry of startups and innovation has meant the focus has been: What can we disrupt? How fast can we grow? How big can we get? How much can we raise?

Founders are taught to possess enough faith that they can build something very big very fast. This creates a pressure cooker of responsibility that distorts reality to the... See more

Instead of doing broad but thin market research (e.g., customer surveys), focus on one person (or a small group) and go as deep as you can, learning everything about how your product fits into their broader lives. Or become your customer—spend a day, a month, or even a few years in the role you're trying to sell to before attempting to build a... See more

A unique idea is powerful.

But truly original ideas — if there is such a thing — often struggle to gain traction with people who don’t have any reference point for them.