Burt Rutan’s TED Talk Sparked Boom’s Mission
This 2004 TED talk by Burt Rutan was part of my inspiration for starting Boom. I remember showing this to friends in ~2010 and saying someone needed to do something about the problems Burt called out….
Quit Corporate, Now I Set My Own Worth
I left corporate America because someone else decided how much of my value I got to keep. I made $45,000 a year, yet generated millions of dollars in revenue for this business. Yeah, my value was WORTH a ton, and I wasn't...
Early Bet on PrettyLitter Fuels Decade-Long Draper Success
Hollywood came to Draper University in 2015 to film a reality TV show called "Startup U." Fast forward to 2021: PrettyLitter sold—nearly a unicorn. Let’s rewind… One of the contestants was Carly Martinetti. She came with her partner, Daniel Rotman, to pitch PrettyLitter. The...
Blueprint for Building AI‑Native Companies in 2026
I got a chance to interview Jack Dorsey for the Long Strange Trip pod about his new article (in comments) on how to build a modern ai native company in 2026. I took some of his ideas and mixed them with...
YouTube Pivoted From Dating Videos to Everything
YouTube started as ...a video dating site. But nobody uploaded dating videos. People uploaded everything else. So Youtube listened and pivoted to the current Youtube
Founders Who Execute See Demo Numbers Double
My final student session last night was at 7pm. The founder showed up and had done ALL of his homework. He had doubled the number of demos that were going onto his calendar since our prior session two weeks before,...
Meet Me at RunwayML AI Summit for Startup Collaboration
I’m at the @runwayml ai summit in nyc today. If you’re a startup/company building with Runway’s tools, come find me. https://t.co/wX1Brsne32
Runway Unveils $10M Fund to Boost Early AI Startups
Exclusive: Runway launches $10M fund, Builders program to support early stage AI startups Part of a growing trend of young, upwardly mobile AI startups investing in early stage to cover areas of the biz they can't do in house. https://t.co/FcIMsDUTtK via...
Launching Phoenix Property Management: Hiring First Team Member
Getting more serious about a potential expansion of our property management business to Phoenix. Looking to hire our first employee there, who will help me launch and grow the business, while also managing our initial batch of properties. Link to the job...
If You Can't Summarize Your Business, You're Lost
You think you know your story because you live it every day. Try this test: Open a blank document and write down your company's story in 200 words. What job are customers hiring you to do? Why does your approach work...
Embrace Your Weirdness; It's Your Irreplaceable Product
Naval Ravikant has talked for years about the idea of productizing yourself. I keep coming back to that phrase, especially now. With so many people worried about AI taking their job, replacing parts of what they do, or even dulling...
AI Aggregators Evolve Into Dominant Platforms, History Shows
Most people are building AI features. A few are building AI companies. Almost nobody is thinking about AI aggregators. Most Founders are asking: "Which model should I build on?" But the smart ones are asking a different question: "How do...
Saying No Is the Entrepreneur’s Greatest Skill
Found out (the hard way) that the most important words in entrepreneurship are “No. No. No.”
Act Now: Build Early, Stop Overthinking, Use AI
Advice I needed at 22: • Build earlier • Stop overthinking • Pick one path • Use AI, don’t fear it • Show your work You don’t need more time. You need more action.
True CEOs Build Businesses That Run Without Them
The happiest founders I know have a business that runs without them. If you're answering basic questions or fixing mistakes that shouldn't have happened… You’re an operator, not a CEO.
Jessica's Life Story Forged the Traits Behind YC Success
This interview with Jessica goes the deepest of any interview she's done into her life story, and how it gave her the unique combination of qualities that made Y Combinator work.
Make Content Core, Not a Side Task
If founders keep treating content like a side task, they’ll keep getting side-task results. The real leverage starts when content becomes part of product growth infrastructure.
Consistency Beats Metrics: Show up Daily and Build
Founder to founder. I don't care about your follower count. I don't care about your revenue. I care that you show up every day and build. If that's you, let's connect. What are you working on right now?
Founders Need Systems, Not More Content Ideas
For the last couple of months, I’ve been rethinking something important: I don’t think most founders have a content problem. I think they have a systems problem. They don’t need more random ideas. They need better ways to turn signals into decisions, and decisions...
Big Funding Elevates Established InsurTech Startups to Leadership
InsurTech leaders are emerging ! → https://t.co/Mi6qREt2U8 This reflects the largest rounds announced recently, which happened to come from startups on the market for a while. https://t.co/WSCHzLUKG4
From Pizza Delivery to £646M: Skill Compounding Wins
Ben Francis started Gymshark at 19 while delivering pizzas and sewing vests in his parents’ garage. He first ran a dropshipping site for supplements, learned fast, then built his own apparel brand. He sent free gear to fitness creators, built a community,...
AI-Native Firms Reshape India‑US Startup Corridor
From the 2020 @HarvardHBS case study on @LogiNext to now: Great to be back to speak at Harvard Entrepreneurship Summit Discussed the rise of AI-native enterprises, structural shifts beyond chatbot-like AI, and scaling the 🇮🇳-🇺🇸 corridor with @srikrishmang, @anshu @amruthajalihal https://t.co/8nwPw9T5vN
Seed Funding Demands New Rules Beyond Pre‑Seed
Founders raise $100k-$200k pre-seed easily But raising a $1-2M seed round is playing the game at another level with different rules I’m doing a webinar on the difference between raising pre-seed and seed tomorrow. Want the replay? DM me “RAISING SEED”
Legacy Media Fails Democracy; Democracy Docket Grows
Legacy media is failing democracy. Rather than complain, I did something about it. Six years ago, I started Democracy Docket from scratch. Now, it has more than 425,000 subscribers. The work has never mattered more. Help it grow by subscribing...
Funding Gaps and Talent Shortage Cripple Indian AI Startups
Why Are Indian AI Startups Shutting Down? https://t.co/EsZZ11sDNY #StartupGrowth #StartupLife #startup #startupsoul #artificialintelligence #AI #startupindia #makeinindia
Centralize Client Brand Assets with BrandChek
I built a web product called BrandChek to solve a very specific marketing problem- which client is on what platform, what’s their font, brand colors, and point of contact? BrandChek keeps all of that in one place…not scattered across emails,...
Payment Fees Are a Business Cost, Not a Complaint
The people surprised by this have yet to learn of the cost of doing business and just how much a payment provider does for them. $17k on $600k revenue isn’t something you complain about out. You price it in.
Top 15 YC Startups We’re Excited About
we draft 15 YC startups that we're most excited about in the latter half of the episode https://t.co/EIo61wt3KI
Entrix and GridBeyond Secure €55M for European BESS Expansion
European BESS route-to-market optimisers Entrix, GridBeyond raise €55 million #energysky -- via Energy Storage News: https://t.co/0vPiFdrlwz
Even AI Struggles With One‑Shot Real‑World Business Tasks
things that seem possible but are hard to one-shot* with the latest agents - come up a unique tee concept, design it, and sell at least 100 tee shirts for a profit - sell $1000 worth of drop shipped goods for a...
Acquisitions Accelerate Growth: Favor Mid‑Size M&A Deals
Solid thoughts Art… Compressing “time to scale” is always a good M&a model — as is “owning a loved brand” Facebook was quickly copying WhatsApp and instagram — but decided to accelerate through an acquisition (and got two more swings...
AI Startups Should Prioritize Infrastructure Over Competition
How do you survive as an AI startup competing with Anthropic and OpenAI Know when to retreat, says Harvey CEO Winston Weinberg. His advice for AI startups: focus on infrastructure, security and other defensible areas -- instead of getting "distracted" by...
Base44: Bootstrapped AI Agent Platform Nets $80M Exit
The competition is nuts in AI Agent-running platforms. Am talking to a group of Tesla fans and everyone is catching wind that they need to get into this world. What is Base44? From the company... "Base44 is the AI agent platform...
Zero-Cost Builds Turn Every Idea Into a Bet
We are in an era of shipping products we would have killed in a meeting two years ago. Too niche, too small, team too busy. As the cost of building goes to zero every ignored idea becomes fair game. The...
Business Reality: Hard Work Beats Highlight Reel
Most people are underprepared for how hard starting a business actually is because social media sold you the highlight reel. Business is not always easy. It's pressure. It is uncomfortable. Always plan ahead and be flexible. Build a mindset and never...
AI Product Scaling Hides Costly Infrastructure Expenses
Building AI products today? The hidden cost crisis is real. I built an email triaging tool that costs me $1-2/day. Sounds cheap? Try scaling that to a $30/month SaaS - you'd be net negative before accounting for ANY people costs....
Turn Social Posts Into Leads with a Simple System
Most founders waste hours on social media and have nothing to show for it. No leads. No pipeline. Just "engagement." I've been doing this for 10+ years and here's what I've learned: Posting more content is not the answer. The...
Planning Future S‑Tier Steaks with Galician Cattle
if im in your insta DMs im probably working out a deal to raise galician cattle in usa for s tier steaks (10yrs from now) https://t.co/AF4Ri493i6
Build a $50M Company Outside Silicon Valley
You do not need Silicon Valley to build a $50M company. One founder (@MediaKing) did it from a city of 250,000 people. No venture capital. No hype. No tech scene. What helped? 1. Fewer distractions. No shiny object syndrome 2. Long-term focus. No pressure...
Inclusive Shade Range Fuels Explosive Sales, Limited Options Stall
Fenty Beauty launched with 40 foundation shades, hitting $100M in sales in 40 days because they served a market everyone else ignored. Meanwhile you're launching with 3 shades and wondering why nobody buys.
Sycamore: Enterprise Agent OS by Sri's Stellar Team
Sri is building Sycamore: an agent OS for the enterprise. Great team and great product concept. Can't wait for the launch :)
5 Q2‑Ready VCs Offering $250k‑
Entrepreneurs: Here are 5 VCs with new money for Q2 that can write your company $250k-$1M check: DECISION MAKERS BELOW👇🏾
Close the Deal Instantly: Speed Wins Over Competition
Founders: The moment someone agrees to pricing, send the contract. Not tomorrow, not after the weekend. Every hour of delay is time for them to second-guess or for competitors to swoop in. Speed of execution differentiates winners.
SaaS Fundamentals Never Change: Delight Customers, Profit
Every time the world said SaaS was over, the fundamentals still worked. > 2008 > COVID > Now the AI “SaaSpocalypse” But the answer hasn't changed once. Dharmesh from HubSpot said, "No matter what you're building, you just need to make your...
Seize Rapid Change: Offense Beats Defensive Stagnation
Today is my birthday. Year 39 reminds me that we are in an era of compounding change (3x3 = 9). Given that I share the birthday of Eren Yeager, the Attack/Founding Titan, I'm reminded that we have to play Offense. As...
Don’t Rely Solely on Product Hunt for SaaS Launches
Before you make Product Hunt your *entire* SaaS Launch Strategy... Think about this for a second: How many startups are in the #1 Product of the Day graveyard? https://t.co/fNxv64Li6Q
New Energy Gel Redefines Running Fuel Through Community
Running culture is evolving, and its fuel is finally catching up., paolabsjelly is an energy gel brand redefining the category through flavor, culture and community-first building. Read the full article to see how the founders are building the next running fuel essential.
R3 Bio's Push for Brainless Human Clones Sparks Ethical Debate
Here's our story about R3 Bio and the entrepreneur dreaming of brainless human clones. https://t.co/ZJpdffTKNP
All 100k/Mo Promises Boil Down to Guaranteed Ads
Every 2-bit hack who claims they can help you scale your agency/consulting/coaching biz to 100k/mo teaches the same variation of “run ads with a guarantee” That’s it. That’s the entire playbook.
Your First Non‑paying Users Drive True Product Value
Your first paying customer isn't your most valuable one. Hewitt Tomlin's most valuable early users never paid him. They switched off Excel, climbed his learning curve, and gave him the honest feedback that built a $10M ARR product. https://t.co/jiSjWG9xGw