Practical thinking on building, funding, and scaling startups — from someone who has done it. No fluff, no generic advice. Just the stuff that actually matters.
AI coaching tools have exploded in the last two years. Some founders swear by them. Others think they're a shortcut to bad decisions. The truth, as always, is more nuanced — and depends entirely on how you use them.
Read the article →Most founders track too many numbers and act on too few. Here's a practical framework for identifying the three to five metrics that genuinely tell you if your business is working.
Read more →A great board report builds trust, surfaces problems early, and keeps your investors engaged and supportive. Most founders write them wrong. Here's the format that actually works.
Read more →After reviewing hundreds of pitch decks, the pattern is clear. It's not about beautiful design or clever storytelling. It's about answering the right questions in the right order — before investors even ask them.
Read more →Geoff Smart's 'Who' method is the most rigorous hiring framework I've come across. Here's how to apply it in a startup context — where you're time-poor, moving fast, and can't afford a bad hire.
Read more →Rob Fitzpatrick's Mom Test tells you how to ask the right questions. Jobs to Be Done tells you what to listen for. Together, they're the most powerful customer discovery toolkit a founder can have.
Read more →Raising too early burns equity and creates pressure before you're ready. Raising too late means you're negotiating from desperation. Here's how to time it right — and what signals to look for.
Read more →Most startups introduce OKRs and then quietly abandon them within a quarter. The problem isn't the framework — it's how they're set. Here's what separates OKRs that change behaviour from ones that just waste time.
Read more →Every founder can sell — at first. The problem is that founder-led sales doesn't scale. Here's how to build a repeatable process before you hire your first sales rep, so they're set up to succeed from day one.
Read more →The weeks after closing a round are critical — and most founders waste them celebrating. Here's the 90-day framework Gary uses with every post-funding client to turn fresh capital into real momentum.
Read more →CAC, LTV, payback period, contribution margin — investors ask about these in every meeting. But beyond impressing investors, understanding your unit economics is the difference between building a real business and scaling a loss-maker.
Read more →Co-founder breakdown is one of the top reasons startups fail — and almost all of it is preventable. Here's how to have the hard conversations early, set clear roles, and build a partnership that survives the pressure of growth.
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