Building 0-1
Just because a company is B2B doesn’t mean it can’t have the taste and style of a B2C company. People who work in companies are still people, and delightful experiences should be for everyone.
Sarah Drinkwater • How I invest at Common Magic (or, rather, things I believe to be true)
hypothesis:
1. work feels bad (unmotivating, boring, hard) when we lack of focus
2. focus is upstream of energy, flow, fulfillment, progress, feedback loops
what's upstream of focus?
attention (presence) paired w/ agency (when our abilities and beliefs match our context) Show more
I think the mistake too many entrepreneurs make is they start companies assuming they have scale. We’ve seen no scale, we’ve seen hyperscale, and what we realized was what we have to do is we have to start with that utility and the best networks. I didn’t realize Chris wrote that post, but I should maybe in the back of my mind that’s what I was quo... See more
Ben Thompson • An Interview with Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger About Artifact
The best lead generation companies usually have some combination of a distinguished and highly trusted brand and a proprietary channel or value proposition they use to acquire customers that competitors cannot replicate. These companies typically have staying power and defensibility, are highly differentiated, and immensely more valuable than compe... See more
Marketplaces, Lead Generation, and Brokerages

There is no ideal pitch deck. The narrative depends on what you’re building—but I really like this one:
1. Vision for the world in 5 years
2. The novel wedge that will get you there
3. How you plan to distribute it
4. What could go wrong
5. What you’ll prove by the time you need… Show more
The downside of lead generation businesses is that they can be a race to the bottom if they're in a crowded and competitive market. The barriers to entry are essentially aggregating supply (i.e. buyers of leads or businesses willing to pay for new customers) so there is little in the way of defensibility. The other downside is that they are very tr... See more
Marketplaces, Lead Generation, and Brokerages
The downside of lead generation businesses is that they can be a race to the bottom if they're in a crowded and competitive market. The barriers to entry are essentially aggregating supply (i.e. buyers of leads or businesses willing to pay for new customers) so there is little in the way of defensibility. The other downside is that they are very tr... See more
Marketplaces, Lead Generation, and Brokerages

💡 30 Ideas as we wrap @beondeck's 19th Cohort 💡
Here are 30 ideas about founders, startups, San Francisco, sales, fundraising, and more taken from the second half of the program — sourced from fellows, guests, and me (blame me for the ones you disagree with most vehemently… Show more