Zen Mindset: The Founder’s Secret to Resilience
The biggest battle in building a startup isn't what you think it is. Yesterday I spoke with Eric Simons of Bolt, who took his company from near-death to $20M in revenue within weeks after their pivot. Beyond the incredible turnaround story, what struck me most was Eric's zen mindset approach to entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, most things won't go your way as a founder. So a zen mindset is helpful for rolling with the punches, and being pleasantly surprised when things do actually work out. When I started LaunchBit years ago, every piece of bad news made me anxious. But after nine years building Hustle Fund—watching portfolio companies succeed and fail, seeing prospective LPs say yes and no—I've learned that having a zen mindset is everything. Learning to think "OK, who cares? Let's move on to the next thing" when setbacks happen IS THE SKILL for being a founder. That deal fell through? No worries. That investor who didn't come in. It doesn't matter. This mental shift is what separates founders who build for the long term from those who burn out early.
Your Mind Is the Hardest Startup Challenge
The biggest battle in startups isn't building the product. It's battling your own mind. More >>
We Launch First, Then Figure Things Out
How people think it is: 1. Figure it out 2. Launch How it actually is: 1. Launch 2. Figure it out
One Phrase Turned My Broke Studio Into $180k/Month
In 2017, I was broke and living in a rundown Chicago studio apartment. 18 months later? My ghostwriting agency was on its way to generating $180k/month. This is the story of how one little phrase changed everything:
From Systems Setup to Strategic Growth: My Evolved Roadmap
In 2020, I created something called the Systems Elevation Roadmap. At the time, my focus was about helping founders organize and build the systems inside their businesses so things could run more smoothly. And for where many businesses were at that stage,...
Billion-Dollar Success Came From Streaming Life Nonstop
Everyone thinks you need a 'brilliant idea' to start a business. But Justin Kan's $970M company started by strapping a camera to his head and live-streaming his entire life 24/7. Here's how a real-life Truman Show turned into a billion dollar...
Agentic Payments at $10k/Day, Poised for Explosive Growth
Real daily volume of Agentic Payments $10k/day Growing fast. Unlimited potential. But we're still SUPER early. I think that changes when the Anthropic and OpenAI have to hit profit post IPO.
AI Enables Solo Founder to Build $401M Unicorn
The one-person unicorn era has arrived. Medvi: $401 million in revenue in year one. One founder. One brother hired after hitting $400M. AI made this possible.
Target the Best Segment, Not Just Cheap Pricing
Should you raise prices? Or use low prices to beat incumbents who have gone upmarket? A: Pick one strategy: (1) cheapest or (2) best for [segment]. If 1, fine. (2 is likely more profitable.) But if incumbent charges $10,000/mo, then raising from $20/mo to...
Engineering‑constrained Startups: Sales Outpace Product Build Speed
Wise words i heard recently at a portco board meeting: being engineering constrained is always where you want to be as a startup, which means the sales team is selling, and new product can't be built fast enough to satisfy...
From Rejection to $50M Daily: Netflix’s Rise
In 2000, Netflix wanted to sell itself to Blockbuster for $50 million. Blockbuster laughed at them. Today, Netflix generates $50 million in profit in less than a day.
Leaving Top PE for Independent Deals: High Risk, Higher Reward
How risky is it really to leave a top-paying PE firm to become an independent sponsor and buy a $2-10M EBITDA business yourself? (Think of people working at Warburg Pincus, Vista Equity, KKR, Bain, Carlyle, TPG, Hellman & Friedman, Apollo.) I read...
Integrate AI, Triple Margins; Pure AI Startups Fail
90% of the 'AI wrapper' startups are going to die in 12 months. but the founders who integrate AI into their existing businesses are going to 3x their margins. i'm not building an AI company. i'm building a company that happens...
Paid Ads Can Scale to $50K MRR Fast
$0 to $50K MRR in 12 months. Team of 5. No content marketing. No complex funnels. Just PPC. Karel Papik says most founders dismiss paid ads too early. https://t.co/cYWDvmOcGB
AI Cuts B2B Site Build From 8 Weeks to Days
What typically used to take 8 weeks took me a few days in 2026. In a today’s live AI session at 10AM PT, I’m sharing how I built a full B2B marketing site in 3 days with AI for a new...
DeepSeek Seeks First External Funding to Boost AI Compute
DeepSeek in talks to raise outside capital for first time, seeking to beef up its financial war chest so it can better compete in the costly battle to develop leading AI models.... That will buy lot of compute... https://t.co/8YciEvxn9J
Your Character Sells Before Your Product Ever Does
Built my 6-figure business by becoming someone people wanted to work with: • Before I had the offer • Before I had the funnel • Before I had anything to sell Character is the first product.
Get Real-Time LP Feedback on Your Fund Deck
For GPs raising a fund, you're probably sending your deck to potential LPs. Those LPs are using that deck to quickly decide: meet or pass? Wouldn't it be sweet to know what an LP is thinking when they see your...
Start with Nosebleed Fans to Wow Everyone
Most companies optimize for the people who pay the most… @thesavbananas founder Jesse Cole (@yellowtuxjesse) does the opposite. He starts with the people in the worst seats—the nosebleeds. Because if you can make the experience unforgettable for them, you can make it...
Free Showerheads Fueled Explosive $40M Revenue Surge
I researched Jolie's entire growth strategy after hearing their founder say "paid marketing just isn't working". They gave away 5000 free showerheads. Then they did: • $4M year one • $28M year two • $40M+ year three Check the full breakdown below:...
You Can Learn to Fly Without Crashing, Build Without VC
You don't need to crash a plane to learn to fly ... and you don't need VC to build a business.
Ownership Mindset Demands Equity, Not Extra Hours
A Gen Z employee working at a start-up logged off at 7:00 PM every day. The founder was not happy with this. He spoke to the employee and said, "You need to move beyond the 9–5 mindset. You should think like an owner and...
Small Firms Must Invest Like Giants to Survive
A few years ago I would have told you that a small scrappy company had a big advantage. I've since changed my mind and I understand the big advantages that larger companies have. Once you get a machine rolling down...
AI Defies Disruption Theory: Startups Must Rethink Strategy
Disruption Theory's been a staple of startup strategy, but it does not apply to AI. Incumbents do not regard AI as “just a toy,” and are not waiting around while startups to disrupt them. So, startups need a new strategy. https://t.co/9zku0mmxLZ
Accelerators Often Not Worth It; Consider Before Joining
I went thru an equity + capital focused accelerator and frankly, I’d advise most people not to do it. If you think an accelerator is a good fit for you , happy to answer questions from my perspective.
Shift to a Career, Then Launch a $40k Side Hustle
I escaped Wall Street when my little side hustle reached $40k/month. Here's how you can do the same: First, there are 3 ways to earn money in the world. 1. Jobs A job is where you trade dollars for hours. For example, you're a Starbucks...
Simple Spreadsheet Turns $600K Biz Into Scalable Growth
My digital business generates $600K/month. And I run it with this simple spreadsheet: It takes me less than 10 minutes per week to fill out. But in my first 3 years of business? I made EVERY decision based on "vibes." This works for a while. But...
Validate Your Market Thesis Free with Kimi AI
Kimi AI can now pressure-test your market thesis like Chamath Palihapitiya picks his $1B bets (for free). Most founders think they have a big market. Almost none have actually stress-tested the TAM math. Here are 12 Kimi AI prompts that expose whether...
Stendr Secures $5.4M to Build AI Drone-Tracking Tech
MyPOV: Stendr snags $5.4M in pre-seed funding to develop AI-native drone-tracking tech https://t.co/n6JlqaMl2E @SiliconANGLE @Mike_Wheatley “It’s good to see a startup from allied nations entering the drone defense industry, which is a brand new field and already sorely needed,” - @holgermu...
Early Business Thoughts Disrupt Sleep, Ignite Ideas
When you wake up thinking about the business. Annoying for your sleep but powerful for your ideas.
From Mocked Pitch to Unstoppable IPO Success
Entrepreneurs: They'll laugh at your first pitch but they won't laugh at that damn IPO.
Prepared Minds Spot Opportunities Others Miss
Most entrepreneurs didn't find their best opportunity. They stumbled into it. What separated those who capitalised from those who walked past: preparation. Opportunity recognition is a skill you can train. Chance favours the prepared mind. Start paying attention differently.
Weekly System Review Fuels MYRESET’s Patient Care
Founder Diaries Day 5? — Weekly regroup of our systems, targets & goals for MYRESET at our favorite lounge 💉💚⏰ (We’re also “on call” for our patients booked in for consults all the time. We make sure our doctors are...
Congrats to Willob and UlyssesInc_—Maybe Fund Atlantis Hunt
Congrats @Willob and @UlyssesInc_! Hope you use some of this money to finally find Atlantis. https://t.co/Lui5edcikk
Founders Might Still Pitch Even After Data Sale
do you think founders would still pitch me, if like… i sold our call data to ai labs 👉👈
Get Time Back: One Email, £10/Month Solution
🛑🛑🛑Wait....🛑🛑🛑 SMGB x TAE has given me my TIME back. Running a pub, raising a one year old (who thinks sleep is for wimps), it doesn't leave much time for building online. Founders price £10/month (Goes up soon 👀👀👀) I sent ONE email...
Celebrating Milestones: Early‑Stage Investing’s Thrilling Journey
early stage investing is a rollercoaster important to celebrate milestones with founders and teams, it’s such an incredible feeling when things fall into place crucible portfolio is growing up 🥹 https://t.co/38zqyk2vCa
Know Your Worth: Early Startup Equity Guidelines
How much equity you should ask for at an early startup? #tech #womenintech #founder #startup
Context Switching Costs More Than Software—AI OS Solves It
The most expensive “tool” in a solo business isn’t software. It’s context switching. Every switch from “write a post” → “check Stripe” → “update launch board” costs real money in dropped threads and half-finished work. That’s the quiet tax that AI OS tools...
Banks Prefer Big Deals Over Small Entrepreneurs, No Capital Needed
banks won't fund: – your restaurant – your clothing brand – your agency banks funded: – $200M radiology platform – $2.4M waste deal – $2.4M trucking deal all zero personal capital know the list
AI Agents Will Render Brand and Marketing Obsolete
Just had @a16z GP @illscience on the pod, he has a wild take: brand and marketing will soon have 'zero value' because AI agents will make purchasing decisions based on perfect product information. https://t.co/ifIqVjtYik
From Nighttime Dreams to Daytime Apps
So we’re basically at the point here I spend my nights dreaming about apps I want to build. And my days building them. Anyone else?
From Minivan to AI Infrastructure: Securing $4B Deal
I just pivoted my minivan to AI infrastructure, and someone put a term sheet under my windshield wiper for $4B...
Revenue Stalls Even as Customers Grow, Churn Matches Upgrades
Our revenue at Senja has plateaued We're up 40% in the last 365 days But month on month growth is basically 0 As our customer number increased, our churn and upgrades have met (about 10 a day) Now what? #buildinpublic https://t.co/FY16xbozbp
Simple Closure Launches Asset Hub to Sell Legacy Data
a company called @simple_closure that helps startups wind down is launching "asset hub", which is a marketplace to sell all the old slack/email data apparently they are working on hardening the PII removal tech for this
Pressure-Free Pitch: Set Expectations, Embrace ‘No’, Guide Next Steps
Founders: The agenda script that removes pressure: 'I'll ask questions about how you handle [X]. If there's fit, I'll show you a quick overview. Then we can discuss next steps - or part as friends. Sound good?' Sets expectations. Makes 'no' acceptable. Frames toward...
Slash Raises $100M Series C, Hits $1.4B Valuation
🚨 JUST IN: @slashapp raised $100M Series C at $1.4B to build a Ramp competitor $250M ARR. 60 employees. Valuation quadrupled since May. The headline is the round. The story is everything else 🧵 https://t.co/SzLfFk3ZuB
Dream Big, Iterate Small: Turn Mistakes Into Magic
My mantra across my 30+ year career: Dream big, iterate small. That has served me very well and has stood the test of time. Adjacent to this idea is something else I believe in, but haven't written about in quite...
Bootstrappers Meet Up in Vancouver for a Few Weeks
Who's in Vancouver? I'm going to spend a few weeks in this beautiful city Any bootstrappers around and want to hang out?
Expo Hires Ex-Meta React Lead, Raises $45M for AI Agents
So, @expo the open-source React Native platform, has hired Meta's former React lead @sethwebster, raised $45M, and launched Expo Agent as it leans into AI coding agents. Read my interview with Seth here: https://t.co/1yPgGfe91V Tip @Techmeme