How to go viral with 0 followers 👇

VCs you wanna know: @chudson | precursor ventures @aileenlee | cowboy ventures @edsim | boldstart ventures @alexiskold | 2048 ventures @sahilbloom | srb ventures @jasonlk | saastr fund @lessin | slow ventures @galeforcevc | vitalize @m2jr | floodgate @ljin18 | variant

Beautiful

5 startups crushing it on social: @beehiiv (creator media) newsletters @notionhq (work saas) docs, wikis @posthog (devtools) bugs + prs @clay (ai gtm) revenue + gtm @usecorgi (tbd) insurance?

Backyard goals

A surprisingly effective way to build a great reputation: - do what you said you’d do - communicate before someone has to ask - give other people credit - make the next step obvious

25 early-stage VCs I’d want on my cap table: - @saranormous | @conviction - @harrystebbings | @20vcfund - @zebulgar | @foundersfund - @loganbartlett | @redpoint - @venturetwins | @a16z - @stephzhan | @sequoia - @taliagold | @bessemervp - @graceisford | @lux_capital - @turnernovak | @bananacap_ - @packym | @notboringco - @briannekimmel | @worklifevc - @pitdesi | @btv_vc - @srcasm | @flybridge - @nbt | @footworkvc - @rex_woodbury | @daybreak_fund - @rrhoover | @weekendfund - @alexisohanian | @sevensevensix - @dunkhippo33 | @hustlefundvc - @jmj | @chapterone - @etarczynski | @contrary - @jefielding | @everywherevc - @macconwell | @rarebreedvc - @brit | @offlineventures - @jarridvtingle | @harlemcapital - @paigefinnn | @behind_genius

The strongest people on small teams: - notice what nobody owns - decide that they own it - solve it - create a system so it stays solved

My favorite part of this new era is that you dont need to be technical to build something. For a long time, I suffered from a lot of FOMO since I wasnt an engineer/designer/marketer/you name it. I’ve always been a jack of all trades, master of none. Maybe a generalist/operator… maybe something else, I don’t know. But we’re now entering a time where being a generalist is no longer a bad thing. If you’re willing to tinker and learn, you can pick up new skills at 10x the speed you previously could. Full-stack devs are now Fuller-stack devs. Strong ICs are now Super ICs. The “10X” idea now applies to any role: - 10X engineer - 10X designer - 10X marketer - 10X operator - 10X investor You dont need to be everything to everyone all at once. But you can be dangerous enough in half a dozen domains to blow everyone’s doors off.

One of the biggest mistakes first-time founders make: Over the last 2.5 years, there have been plenty of highs and lows as I’ve built / scaled Tweetjoy. At times, like when a client churns or my pipeline looks thin, it’s easy to get really stressed. But when I zoom out and see how many great things I’ve accomplished (milestones I hit & expectations I exceeded), I realize there’s so much more worth celebrating than worrying about. When building your first business, there’s a sense of paranoia that the whole thing could disappear tomorrow. Now that I'm a few years in, I realize that a bit of paranoia is healthy, but too much of it is unhealthy, and often misplaced. When I started TweetJoy, the goal was to rebuild my life with intention. Not only have I spent more meaningful time with my wife and son than I ever could working a 9-5, but I’ve also significantly increased my income and earning potential by designing a business around one thing I do well. Before Tweetjoy, I was a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. Now that I’m focused on one skill, the right clients seek me out. They hire me at a fraction of a full-time employee’s cost and gain from someone who’s worked with dozens of founders. I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything. Sure, I wish I’d started sooner, but every step brought me exactly to where I am today. I'm sharing this because if you’re scared, hesitant, or currently walking a similar path, remember that your journey (like mine) is 1000s of steps. Each step brings you closer to where you want to be. Celebrate the small wins and enjoy the moment. That’s what entrepreneurship is all about.

I’m fairly certain that anyone can make it in life if they pick one thing, stick with it for ten years, and commit themselves to becoming excellent at it. It takes discipline. It takes courage. It takes resilience. But after ten years, people will take one look at you and your craft and think to themselves, “I admire/want to be surrounded by people like THAT.” You can be THAT person. The person that other people admire, simply because you didn’t quit.

It’s crazy how much your life can change the moment you surround yourself with the right people.

In your career, one of the best moves you can make is to focus on one thing and get really good at it. Practice it nonstop until you’re the person everyone wants to work with. When you’re amazing at something, you make other people’s lives easier, and they’ll naturally talk about you with their friends. This happens because once you help other people reach their goals, they’ll want to help you reach yours. Keep in mind, this cannot all happen in three or six months. That might get you started, but real expertise takes years of consistent effort. As your confidence grows and your results speak for themselves, people will seek you out. Keep sharpening that one skill, and you’ll constantly outshine others. This is how you stand out, build a solid reputation, and open new doors.

The ultimate lifehack: 1. Build a biz serving super-connectors 2. Deliver an EXCEPTIONAL service 3. Underpromise/overdeliver 4. Rinse + repeat The WoM flywheel will be completely unmanageable.

As a solo writer, you'll find your best new clients through existing clients. If you do great work, your current clients will tell their friends about you. Their friends see your writing, ask about it, and learn your name. Success builds naturally this way. • 1 client leads to 2 clients • 2 lead to 4 clients • 4 to 8 Poor service means you'll lose clients fast and go to zero. IMO the path to growth in any business is making customers happy. Happy customers tell their friends about you. Their happiness becomes your success. Nothing is more straightforward than that.

They say do what you love, BUT… .. BUT if you find love in making other people happy then you could literally do anything in the world • If you create the best ‘X product’ on the planet, and ‘X Product’ makes people happy, you’ll be happy • If you deliver the best ‘Y service’ on the planet, and ‘Y service’ makes people happy, ok you catch my drift The point is, you don’t really need to worry too much about WHAT you do when you’re getting started. If you stick with it long enough, you’ll get good at it, and that’ll make people happy, which’ll make you happy. The problem is that most people never start to begin with, which is why they get stuck on the WHAT. But it’s not WHAT. It’s not WHY. It’s also not WHO. Honestly, it’s just YOU.

The hardest part about starting a lifestyle business is keeping it a lifestyle business. The more it grows, the more you want it to grow. But I see this a simple trap of ambition. To counteract this, I put intentional constraints in place. They are a forcing function inside my business. - Signing off at 6pm - Time blocking deep work - Not checking email on weekends If you don’t protect your time, no one else will do it for you. There will always be more. The trick is knowing when enough is enough.

The way we work is about to change. The old model is simple. Companies buy software. Workers use that software. Everyone stays in their lane. But that’s about to flip upside down. Regular people will start using AI and automation tools to do incredible things. One person with the right tools will do the work of an entire department. They won't just be a little better at their job. They'll be thousands of times more productive. A single person will handle tasks that used to need fifty people. They'll serve dozens of clients at once, not just one employer. They'll solve complex problems in minutes instead of months. They'll be normal people using powerful tools. Most companies can’t handle this rate of change. Imagine an employee figures out how to do 100 times more work. What will the company offer them? A 3% raise? A nice bonus? It won't be enough. High performers will look at this math and leave. They'll set up their own operations. They’ll make more money than ever before. They won't need a big team. They won't need an office. They'll just need their skills and their tools. This will create a new kind of work. One person plus good tools equals an entire company's output. These solo operators will eat into everyone else’s profits. They'll steal the best clients. They'll solve problems faster. They'll charge less and make more. We won't be waiting long for this change. It's already starting. The tools are getting better every day. The smart players are making their moves.

The irony in online writing... Every corner of the internet screams advice at you. Write this way. Hook your readers like this. Build your audience like that. Follow these steps to grow. But 99.9% of that advice is useless. It's generic. Cookie-cutter. One-size-fits-all. To think .01% of people succeed with these formulas is nonsense. The writers who break through are the ones who write their hearts out. Publish thousands of times. Fail publicly. Learn privately. And put in the hard work to discover who they are. You won’t stand out by blending in.