The Latest

Oct 14, 2026

The 10-year cost of losing an early hire

Research on millions of U.S. startups found that losing an employee from the company's first year could leave a gap lasting a decade.

Oct 7, 2026

The human in the loop has a maintenance problem

The last line of defense is being trained by the thing it defends against.

Sep 30, 2026

A premature obituary for inbound

HubSpot says inbound is dead. Its evidence is much narrower.

Sep 23, 2026

Which part of your product is expensive?

ICONIQ found AI companies doing fine on 55% gross margins. It also found them growing 900% a year. One of those numbers is a lot easier to copy than the other.

Sep 16, 2026

When a fake hire reaches payroll

A fake candidate can make it through your hiring process without creating a sanctions violation. The real problem begins when you start paying them.

Sep 9, 2026

What your customer needs by month six

Buyers expect a return within six months of buying, however long the contract runs.

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A note from the editor

Founders get plenty of advice. Most of it sucks. Recycled frameworks from people who’ve never operated, growth hacks from people who’ve never grown anything, and LinkedIn wisdom from people who think hustle porn is a personality.

Most founder content is written by people who’ve never had to fire someone, confess to the Board that they’ll miss a number, or explain to their team why the strategy changed again.

I have. Multiple times. As a 2x founder, as an executive at growth-stage companies, and as a fractional leader helping other founders scale.

I’ve also built a network of operators, founders, and execs who’ve been through the same battles. Their lessons show up here, too.

I write this to save you some of the pain I went through. Not all of it. But some.